Pile, n.
1. A mass of things heaped together; a heap; as, a pile of stones; a pile of wood.
2. A mass formed in layers; as, a pile of shot.
3. A funeral pile; a pyre.
4. A large building, or mass of buildings.
The pile o'erlooked the town and drew the fight. --Dryden.
5. Iron Manuf. Same as Fagot, n., 2.
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.
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.
7. The reverse of a coin. See Reverse.
Cross and pile. See under Cross.
Dry pile. See under Dry.