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Where does the word "battery" come from? It comes from Vulgar Latin battuere, passing through French before entering English (1530s).
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Where does the word "battery" come from? It comes from Vulgar Latin battuere, passing through French before entering English (1530s).
Battery’s story begins in Vulgar Latin: battuere meant “to beat.” The root of 'battle' and 'batter'. By 1500s, the word had taken hold in French as batterie. A group of cannons firing together. It reached English by 1530s as battery. Benjamin Franklin applied it to linked electrical jars in 1749. Today, battery means a device storing electricity; a group of guns.
- Stage 1 · Vulgar Latin · ancient battuere "to beat", the root of 'battle' and 'batter'.
- Stage 2 · French · 1500s batterie "beating; artillery", a group of cannons firing together.
- Stage 3 · English · 1530s battery "beating; artillery", Benjamin Franklin applied it to linked electrical jars in 1749.