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.
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2. A mass formed in layers; as, a pile of shot.
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3. A funeral pile; a pyre. --Dryden.
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4. A large building, or mass of buildings.
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The pile o'erlooked the town and drew the fight.
--Dryden.
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5. (Iron Manuf.) Same as Fagot, n., 2.
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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.
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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.
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7. [F. pile pile, an engraved die, L. pila a pillar.] The
reverse of a coin. See Reverse.
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Cross and pile. See under Cross.
Dry pile. See under Dry.
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