Voltaic

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /vɒlˈteɪ.ɪk/

Definitions

1. Describing a process that involves generating electric energy through chemical reactions
2. Pertaining to the generation of electrical current via chemical means
3. Concerning the production of energy through chemical reactions creating electric flow

Etymology: Alessandro Volta, an Italian physicist and chemist, built the first true electric battery in 1800, stacking discs of zinc and silver separated by cloth soaked in brine. Scientists soon wanted an adjective for the chemical electricity his device produced, and they took his name and added the common scientific ending "-ic," which in English turns a person's name into a word meaning "relating to" that person's work or discovery. The result, "voltaic," describes the chemical cell itself and the reactions that drive it. The same pattern gave English words such as "galvanic," named after Luigi Galvani, though that word came from a different scientist's experiments with animal tissue. "Voltaic" is simply Volta's name with a suffix attached, and its meaning stayed close to the original device.

Synonyms: electric, electrical, battery-operated

Antonyms: manual, non-electrical, mechanical