From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Battery \Bat"ter*y\, n.; pl. {Batteries}. [F. batterie, fr.
battre. See {Batter}, v. t.]
1. The act of battering or beating.
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2. (Law) The unlawful beating of another. It includes every
willful, angry and violent, or negligent touching of
another's person or clothes, or anything attached to his
person or held by him.
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3. (Mil.)
(a) Any place where cannon or mortars are mounted, for
attack or defense.
(b) Two or more pieces of artillery in the field.
(c) A company or division of artillery, including the
gunners, guns, horses, and all equipments. In the
United States, a battery of flying artillery consists
usually of six guns.
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{Barbette battery}. See {Barbette}.
{Battery d'enfilade}, or {Enfilading battery}, one that
sweeps the whole length of a line of troops or part of a
work.
{Battery en ['e]charpe}, one that plays obliquely.
{Battery gun}, a gun capable of firing a number of shots
simultaneously or successively without stopping to load.
{Battery wagon}, a wagon employed to transport the tools and
materials for repair of the carriages, etc., of the
battery.
{In battery}, projecting, as a gun, into an embrasure or over
a parapet in readiness for firing.
{Masked battery}, a battery artificially concealed until
required to open upon the enemy.
{Out of battery}, or {From battery}, withdrawn, as a gun, to
a position for loading.
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4. (Elec.)
(a) A number of coated jars (Leyden jars) so connected
that they may be charged and discharged
simultaneously.
(b) An apparatus for generating voltaic electricity.
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Note: In the {trough battery}, copper and zinc plates,
connected in pairs, divide the trough into cells, which
are filled with an acid or oxidizing liquid; the effect
is exhibited when wires connected with the two
end-plates are brought together. In {Daniell's
battery}, the metals are zinc and copper, the former in
dilute sulphuric acid, or a solution of sulphate of
zinc, the latter in a saturated solution of sulphate of
copper. A modification of this is the common {gravity
battery}, so called from the automatic action of the
two fluids, which are separated by their specific
gravities. In {Grove's battery}, platinum is the metal
used with zinc; two fluids are used, one of them in a
porous cell surrounded by the other. In {Bunsen's} or
the {carbon battery}, the carbon of gas coke is
substituted for the platinum of Grove's. In
{Leclanch['e]'s battery}, the elements are zinc in a
solution of ammonium chloride, and gas carbon
surrounded with manganese dioxide in a porous cell. A
{secondary battery} is a battery which usually has the
two plates of the same kind, generally of lead, in
dilute sulphuric acid, and which, when traversed by an
electric current, becomes charged, and is then capable
of giving a current of itself for a time, owing to
chemical changes produced by the charging current. A
{storage battery} is a kind of secondary battery used
for accumulating and storing the energy of electrical
charges or currents, usually by means of chemical work
done by them; an accumulator.
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5. A number of similar machines or devices in position; an
apparatus consisting of a set of similar parts; as, a
battery of boilers, of retorts, condensers, etc.
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6. (Metallurgy) A series of stamps operated by one motive
power, for crushing ores containing the precious metals.
--Knight.
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7. The box in which the stamps for crushing ore play up and
down.
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8. (Baseball) The pitcher and catcher together.
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From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
battery
n 1: group of guns or missile launchers operated together at one
place
2: a device that produces electricity; may have several primary
or secondary cells arranged in parallel or series [syn:
{battery}, {electric battery}]
3: a collection of related things intended for use together;
"took a battery of achievement tests"
4: a unit composed of the pitcher and catcher
5: a series of stamps operated in one mortar for crushing ores
[syn: {battery}, {stamp battery}]
6: the heavy fire of artillery to saturate an area rather than
hit a specific target; "they laid down a barrage in front of
the advancing troops"; "the shelling went on for hours
without pausing" [syn: {barrage}, {barrage fire}, {battery},
{bombardment}, {shelling}]
7: an assault in which the assailant makes physical contact
[syn: {battery}, {assault and battery}]
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