Battery
/ˈbæt.ər.i/noun
A device that stores and supplies electrical energy, or a group of similar objects acting together.
Did you know?Before it powered your phone, *battery* was an old military word for an assault or pounding attack, and its electrical sense came later because early battery setups were like a “set” of cells working together.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bʰeh₂-
“to strike, hit, or beat”
Latin
Latin
battuere
“to beat, strike”
Late Latin
Late Latin
battuālia
“drill exercises; beating”
Old French
Old French
baterie
“beating, attack, artillery fire”
Middle English
English
baterie
“an act of beating; an assault”
18th Century
English
battery
“a set of artillery pieces arranged to fire together; later, a group of electrical cells”