from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Pile \Pile\, n. [F. pile, L. pila a pillar, a pier or mole of
stone. Cf. {Pillar}.]
1. A mass of things heaped together; a heap; as, a pile of
stones; a pile of wood.
[1913 Webster]
2. A mass formed in layers; as, a pile of shot.
[1913 Webster]
3. A funeral pile; a pyre. --Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
4. A large building, or mass of buildings.
[1913 Webster]
The pile o'erlooked the town and drew the fight.
--Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
5. (Iron Manuf.) Same as {Fagot}, n., 2.
[1913 Webster]
6. (Elec.) A vertical series of alternate disks of two
dissimilar metals, as copper and zinc, laid up with disks
of cloth or paper moistened with acid water between them,
for producing a current of electricity; -- commonly called
{Volta's pile}, {voltaic pile}, or {galvanic pile}.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The term is sometimes applied to other forms of
apparatus designed to produce a current of electricity,
or as synonymous with battery; as, for instance, to an
apparatus for generating a current of electricity by
the action of heat, usually called a thermopile.
[1913 Webster]
7. [F. pile pile, an engraved die, L. pila a pillar.] The
reverse of a coin. See {Reverse}.
[1913 Webster]
{Cross and pile}. See under {Cross}.
{Dry pile}. See under {Dry}.
[1913 Webster]