an early form of battery consisting of a pile of paired plates of dissimilar metals, such as zinc and copper, each pair being separated from the next by a pad moistened with an electrolyte
Also called: pile, galvanic pile, Volta's pile
voltaic pile in American English
an early type of primary cell used to generate direct current: it consisted of a stack of paired disks of dissimilar metals separated by acid-saturated cloth or paper