Origin of the term "doping" in semiconductors

Question

Is there a known origin/etymology for using the terms "doping" and "dopants" when describing the process of introducing impurities to semiconductors? I have never been able to find a reference in any textbook/course on the subject I've seen.

Answer 1

This might be a better question for the English SE, but anyway, 'dope' comes from the Dutch word 'doop' (thick dipping sauce). Up until about the end of the 19th century it meant just that (or any thick liquid), with a secondary meaning relating to the absorbent material used in high explosives. Later on it, other meanings came into use:

Below quotes are from the OED print edition.

First recorded use as an adulterant or to 'doctor' something pure was in 1892:

"They will run their flutter mills and mixers and dope the flour to suit themselves."

In the 1913 Sunday Times Trenton NJ we have:

"Alternative offered to the water drinkers of Trenton: Typhoid if the water isn't 'doped' with hypochlorite of lime; an itch if it is".

So it well predates modern semiconductor technology. Around the same period it also became associated with drugs, the liquid 'dope' applied to fabric aircraft surfaces and to information (to get the dope on something).