Meanings
plural voltaic piles · alternative Voltaic pile
- historicalThe earliest electrical battery that could continuously provide an electric current to a circuit.
She seemed molded from fire and air, and vivified at some Voltaic pile of August thunder-clouds heaped against the sunset.
1852, Herman Melville, Pierre; or The AmbiguitiesSynonyms: Volta's pile
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe earliest electrical battery that could continuously provide an electric current to a circuit.
More synonyms by meaning
nounbattery consisting of voltaic cells arranged in series; the earliest electric battery devised by Volta
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Invented by Italian chemist Alessandro Volta.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
voltaic pile. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/voltaic%20pile
“voltaic pile.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/voltaic%20pile. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “voltaic pile,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/voltaic%20pile.
Source: voltaic pile on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.