what other names are given to it?
"Amphoteric element," "boundary element," "half-metal," etc.
Metalloid
Several names are sometimes used synonymously although some of these have other meanings that are not necessarily interchangeable: "amphoteric element," "boundary element," "half-metal," "half-way element," "near metal," "meta-metal," "semiconductor," "semimetal" and "submetal". 
what is referred to as a metalloid? It is a type of chemical element which has a preponderance of properties in between, or that are a mixture of, those of metals and nonmetals. where is it used commonly? In the literature of chemistry.
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Metalloid [SEP] Derivation and other names
The word metalloid comes from the Latin "metallum" ("metal") and the Greek "oeides" ("resembling in form or appearance"). Several names are sometimes used synonymously although some of these have other meanings that are not necessarily interchangeable: "amphoteric element," "boundary element," "half-metal," "half-way element," "near metal," "meta-metal," "semiconductor," "semimetal" and "submetal". "Amphoteric element" is sometimes used more broadly to include transition metals capable of forming oxyanions, such as chromium and manganese. "Half-metal" is used in physics to refer to a compound (such as chromium dioxide) or alloy that can act as a conductor and an insulator. "Meta-metal" is sometimes used instead to refer to certain metals (Be, Zn, Cd, Hg, In, Tl, β-Sn, Pb) located just to the left of the metalloids on standard periodic tables.