voltaic
1 Americanadjective
-
Electricity. noting or pertaining to electricity or electric currents, especially when produced by chemical action, as in a cell; galvanic.
-
(initial capital letter) of or relating to Alessandro Volta.
noun
adjective
-
of or relating to Burkina Faso, formerly known as Upper Volta
-
denoting, belonging to, or relating to the Gur group of African languages
noun
adjective
Etymology
Origin of voltaic1
Origin of Voltaic2
First recorded in 1935–40; Volta ( def. 2 ) + -ic ( def. 1 )
Explanation
Voltaic describes a chemical reaction that results in electrical energy. Batteries are the most common voltaic devices. While the adjective voltaic specifically refers to the chemical process that occurs in a battery, it's often used to mean simply "relating to electricity." You might notice the word's similarity to volt, a basic unit of electricity. The two words share a root, Volta, the last name of the Italian physicist who invented the electric battery in 1800.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This approach is called agrivoltaics — a portmanteau of agriculture and voltaic cells, which transform solar power to electrical power.
From New York Times • Jun. 28, 2022
“I have just completed a curious voltaic pile which I think you would like to see,” he wrote.
From Scientific American • Oct. 29, 2017
A battery is a multiple connection of voltaic cells, as shown in Figure 21.18.
From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015
The photo voltaic panels would make my house, which is over 300 years old, carbon negative.
From BBC • Dec. 29, 2009
The voltaic arc also produces the most intense light that we know of.
From The Catholic World; Volume I, Issues 1-6 A Monthly Eclectic Magazine by Rameur, E.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
