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.
of or relating to Burkina Faso, formerly known as Upper Volta
denoting, belonging to, or relating to the Gur group of African languages
1805–15; after A. Volta; see -ic
First recorded in 1935–40; Volta ( def. 2 ) + -ic ( def. 1 )
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.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“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 lineup spans the early, voltaic work of William Forsythe, and includes pieces by Francesca Harper and Elisa Monte.
From New York Times • Jun. 12, 2014
The photo voltaic panels would make my house, which is over 300 years old, carbon negative.
From BBC • Dec. 29, 2009
A great variety of useful voltaic batteries have since been devised by others, too numerous to be mentioned here.
From Inventions in the Century by Doolittle, William Henry
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.
