"Silicon" (symbol Si) is a group 14 metalloid. It is less reactive than its chemical analog carbon, the nonmetal directly above it in the periodic table, but more reactive than germanium, the metalloid directly below it in the table. Controversy about silicon's character dates from its discovery: silicon was first prepared and characterized in pure form in 1824, and given the name silicium (from , flints), with an -ium word-ending to suggest a metal. However, its final name, suggested in 1831, reflects the more chemically similar elements carbon and boron.