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eolipile

[ee-ol-uh-pahyl]
noun
  1. aeolipile.
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aeolipile

or ae·ol·i·pyle, e·ol·i·pile

[ee-ol-uh-pahyl]
noun
  1. a round vessel caused to rotate by the force of tangentially escaping steam: an early example of jet propulsion.
  2. a device for injecting the vapors of heated alcohol into a laboratory furnace.
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Origin of aeolipile

1650–60; < Latin aeolīpilae balls of Aeolus, alteration of aeolīpylae gates of Aeolus, equivalent to Aeolī (genitive singular of Aeolus) + pylae, plural of pyla < Greek pýlē gate
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for eolipile

Historical Examples

  • This also was the invention of Hero, and was a reaction engine, on the principle of the eolipile.

    History of the Conflict Between Religion and Science

    John William Draper

British Dictionary definitions for eolipile

eolipile

noun
  1. a variant spelling of aeolipile
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aeolipile

noun
  1. a device illustrating the reactive forces of a gas jet: usually a spherical vessel mounted so as to rotate and equipped with angled exit pipes from which steam within it escapes
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Word Origin

C17: from Latin aeolīpilae balls of Aeolus or aeolīpylae gates of Aeolus
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012