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Ceramic
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<p>A ceramic is any of the various hard, <a href="/facts/Brittleness/cn27H2vg">brittle</a>, <a href="/facts/Heat_resistance/N7VLrDAf">heat-resistant</a>, and <a href="/facts/Corrosion-resistant/lIC7H4we">corrosion-resistant</a> <a href="/facts/Material/Rmt5HySL">materials</a> made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as <a href="/facts/Clay/xnwouEkB">clay</a>, at a high temperature. Common examples are <a href="/facts/Earthenware/xz481YuA">earthenware</a>, <a href="/facts/Porcelain/deuLm3sb">porcelain</a>, and <a href="/facts/Brick/2CBPgDIK">brick</a>. </p><p>The earliest ceramics made by humans were fired clay bricks used for building house walls and other structures. Other <a href="/facts/Pottery/XLcUT1mX">pottery</a> objects such as pots, vessels, vases and <a href="/facts/Figurine/jWwwazCW">figurines</a> were made from <a href="/facts/Clay/xnwouEkB">clay</a>, either by itself or mixed with other materials like <a href="/facts/Silicon_dioxide/A3WILp6J">silica</a>, hardened by <a href="/facts/Sintering/Y4eGLzFf">sintering</a> in fire. Later, ceramics were <a href="/facts/Glazing_(ceramics)/eWJqJTYk">glazed</a> and fired to create smooth, colored surfaces, decreasing <a href="/facts/Porosity/UoyAJU8X">porosity</a> through the use of glassy, amorphous ceramic coatings on top of the crystalline ceramic substrates. Ceramics now include domestic, industrial, and building products, as well as a wide range of materials developed for use in advanced ceramic engineering, such as <a href="/facts/Semiconductor/zFf3mGTE">semiconductors</a>. </p><p>The word <i>ceramic</i> comes from the <a href="/facts/Ancient_Greek/LIK7NlUh">Ancient Greek</a> word κεραμικός (<i>keramikós</i>), meaning "of or for <a href="/facts/Pottery/XLcUT1mX">pottery</a>" (from <i> </i>κέραμος<i> (<i>kéramos</i>)</i> 'potter's clay, tile, pottery'). The earliest known mention of the root <i>ceram-</i> is the <a href="/facts/Mycenaean_Greek/WIdnQ53V">Mycenaean Greek</a> <i>ke-ra-me-we</i>, workers of ceramic, written in <a href="/facts/Linear_B/caBvXdPb">Linear B</a> syllabic script. The word <i>ceramic</i> can be used as an adjective to describe a material, product, or process, or it may be used as a noun, either singular or, more commonly, as the <a href="/facts/Plurale_tantum/Cfb9oUu6">plural</a> noun <i>ceramics</i>. </p>