la
/pil/
Translation
battery; pile, stack; heads (of a coin); also an adverb meaning exactly, on the dot
Word origin
From Latin pila ('pillar, stack'). The battery sense comes from Volta's pile of stacked metal discs in 1800, and the coin sense from the pile, the fixed lower die a coin was struck against, which gave the phrase pile ou face.
- Origin
- Latin
- Root
- pila
- English cognates
- pile, pillar, compile
Grammar
Examples
télécommande , .
The remote no longer works, the batteries need changing.
.
There is a pile of newspapers on the table.
?
Heads or tails?
.
The train arrived at eight o'clock exactly.
.
My watch still runs on a small round battery.
Where this fits
Used in
Grammar articles
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pile: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the French word "pile" (battery; pile, stack; heads (of a coin); also an adverb meaning exactly, on the dot): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 38.