volta

¹

[vohl-tuh, vol-, vawl-tah]

noun

Music.

plural

volte 

1. turn; time (used in phrases).

   una volta (“once”);

   prima volta (“first time”).

Volta

²

[vohl-tuh, vawl-tah, vol-tuh, vohl-]

noun

1. Count Alessandro 1745–1827, Italian physicist.

2. a river in W Africa, in Ghana, formed by the confluence of the Black Volta and the White Volta and flowing S into the Bight of Benin. About 250 miles (400 km) long; with branches about 1,240 miles (1,995 km) long.

Volta

¹

/ ˈvɒltə /

noun

1. a river in W Africa, formed by the confluence of the Black Volta and the White Volta in N central Ghana: flows south to the Bight of Benin: the chief river of Ghana. Length: 480 km (300 miles); (including the Black Volta) 1600 km (1000 miles)

2. an artificial lake in Ghana, extending 408 km (250 miles) upstream from the Volta River Dam on the Volta River: completed in 1966. Area: 8482 sq km (3275 sq miles)

Volta

²

/ ˈvɔlta, ˈvəʊltə /

noun

1. Count Alessandro (alesˈsandro). 1745–1827, Italian physicist after whom the volt is named. He made important contributions to the theory of current electricity and invented the voltaic pile (1800), the electrophorus (1775), and an electroscope

volta

³

/ ˈvɔlta, ˈvɒltə /

noun

1. a quick-moving Italian dance popular during the 16th and 17th centuries

2. a piece of music written for or in the rhythm of this dance, in triple time

Volta

1. Italian physicist who in 1800 invented the voltaic pile, which was the first source of continuous electric current. The volt unit of electromotive force is named for him.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Volta¹

1635–45; < Italian: a turn; volt ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of Volta¹

C17: from Italian: turn; see _volt ²

Example Sentences

“Shame Game” has a psychedelic vibe that’s kinda like a hybrid of Strawberry Alarm Clock and Blue Oyster Cult, while the title track has a prog rock vibe redolent of Styx, Rush and Mars Volta.

From Los Angeles Times

Dance company Volta Collective has choreographed and performed in the garden.

From Los Angeles Times

British teenager Matthew Brennan claimed his first World Tour race win with a stunning victory on stage one of the Volta a Catalunya.

From BBC

The Volta's second stage takes the riders 177.3km from Banyoles to Figueres on Tuesday, with the seven-stage race concluding in Barcelona on Sunday.

From BBC

“It’s heartbreak, it’s wanting, it’s not feeling good enough, it’s being queer. I liked listening to the Mars Volta,” she adds of the psychedelic punk band that formed around the same time as Tegan and Sara, “but I had no idea what was happening in their songs. Tegan and Sara’s music felt so intimate. I felt like I knew them.”

From Los Angeles Times