volta

¹ American  

[vohl-tuh, vol-, vawl-tah] / ˈvoʊl tə, ˈvɒl-, ˈvɔl tɑ /

noun

Music.

plural

volte

1. turn; time (used in phrases).

   una volta (“once”);

   prima volta (“first time”).

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Volta ² American  

[vohl-tuh, vawl-tah, vol-tuh, vohl-] / ˈvoʊl tə, ˈvɔl tɑ, ˈvɒl tə, ˈvoʊl- /

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.

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Volta ¹ British  

/ 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)

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volta ² British  

/ 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

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Volta ³ British  

/ 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

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Volta Scientific  

/ vōl′tə /

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.

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Etymology

Origin of volta

1635–45; < Italian: a turn; volt ²

Example Sentences

There were maybe 200 people there to see the first show for a band that would soon be known as the Mars Volta.

From Los Angeles Times

And he said, ‘Oh, like the Mars Volta.’

From Los Angeles Times

And I thought, ‘Oh he knows of the culture, the Mars Volta is from El Paso.’

From Los Angeles Times

Boat disasters are common on Lake Volta, often caused by overloading and collisions with tree stumps.

From Barron's

“Something is happening in Milan. Venture-capital funds are calling me every day saying, ‘If you see something interesting, we want to invest in Italy,’” said Paul Guillemin, co-founder of the tech startup Volta.

From The Wall Street Journal