Leyden jar

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noun Electricity.

a device for storing electric charge, consisting essentially of a glass jar lined inside and outside, for about two-thirds of its height, with tinfoil.

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Origin of Leyden jar

First recorded in 1815–25; so called because invented in Leyden

Words nearby Leyden jar

lex non scripta, lex scripta, lex talionis, ley, Leyden, Leyden jar, Leydig, Leydig cell, ley farming, Leyland, Leyland cypress

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use Leyden jar in a sentence

However, as she feared, The Bell Jar appeared to indifferent notices and the launch—which Ted attended—was rather low-key.
Ted Hughes’s Brother on Losing Sylvia Plath|Gerald Hughes|December 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“Intercourse felt, often, like shoving a loofah into a mason jar,” she writes, for example.
Speed Read: Lena Dunham’s Most Shocking Confessions From ‘Not That Kind of Girl’|Kevin Fallon|September 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Goodness knows I paid my share into the office “cursing jar” when I worked for her.
A Letter of Thanks to Michelle Rhee|Dmitri Mehlhorn|August 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
[Laughs] I am definitely NOT playing anything like Jar Jar Binks!
Motion Capture Maestro Andy Serkis on ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ and Revolutionizing Cinema|Marlow Stern|July 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST

On it are balanced a plate of eggs and toast, an open quart jar of grape jelly, and a beer mug full to the brim with orange juice.
The Ridiculousness of Father's Day|P. J. O’Rourke|June 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Most characteristic is the presence of Curschmann's spirals, Charcot-Leyden crystals, and eosinophilic leukocytes.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Frederick Spanheim died; a noted divinity professor at Leyden, and a voluminous writer.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
But the jar threw my six-shooter where I couldn't reach it, and the carbine was jammed in the stirrup-leather on the wrong side.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
I dunno's I'd know when t' jar loose m'self, if I knowed her an' she didn't object t' me hangin' around.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
Charcot-Leyden crystals (Fig. 6) are not infrequently encountered, and strongly suggest the presence of intestinal parasites.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd

British Dictionary definitions for Leyden jar

Leyden jar

noun

physics an early type of capacitor consisting of a glass jar with the lower part of the inside and outside coated with tin foil

Word Origin for Leyden jar

C18: first made in Leiden

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

Scientific definitions for Leyden jar

Leyden jar

[ līd′n ]

An early device for storing electric charge that uses the same principle as a modern capacitor. It consists of a glass jar with conductive metal foil covering its inner and outer surfaces, with the glass insulating these surfaces from each other. The inner surface is charged (by an external source) through an electrode penetrating the top of the jar; the inner and outer foil layers can then hold an equal and opposite charge.