Meanings
plural aeolipiles · alternative aeolipyle · alternative eolipile
- A steam engine powered by rocket propulsion due to escaping steam, consisting of a pressure vessel mounted on a bearing, with one or more tubes which exhaust steam tangentially to the rotation axis so as to create rotation, which is mostly regarded as a curiosity with no practical use.
His machine, called an aeolipile, was quite simple. Water in a sealed kettle was heated to boiling over a fire. As the steam expanded, it traveled up two tubes into a sphere, which had two L-shaped openings. The steam would force its way out of the openings, causing the sphere to spin.
2020, John Rocco, How We Got to the Moon, page 29
Origin
- LatinAeoli pylae“doorway of Aeolus”
- Frenchéolipyle
- Englishaeolipile
From French éolipyle, from Latin Aeoli pylae (“doorway of Aeolus”).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French éolipyle
- éolipylesteam engine
Portuguese eolípila
- eolípilasteam engine
Cite this entry
aeolipile. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aeolipile
“aeolipile.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aeolipile. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “aeolipile,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aeolipile.
Source: aeolipile on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.