Etymology Explorer › French

Where does “photopile” come from?

photopile (French) comes from French pile, from Old French pile, from Latin pila, from Latin pīlus, from Latin pīlum, from Proto-Italic pistlom, from Proto-Indo-European pis-tlo-, from Proto-Indo-European peys- — to grind, to crush.

photopile (French): solar cell, solar battery

Definitions

  1. solar cell, solar battery

Ancestry of “photopile”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchpileheap, stack; pillar; battery
2Old Frenchpile—
3Latinpilamortar; pillar; pier
4Latinpīlus—
5Latinpīlum—
6Proto-Italicpistlom—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpis-tlo-—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpeys-to grind, to crush
Every word from Proto-Indo-European peys- →