battery [ˈbætəri:] n. 电池

一般大家只知道电池，它还有别的意思吗？

真有:

1. n. 欧打（beat词源的直接延伸）

You're being charged with assault and battery.

你被指控犯殴打罪。

2. n. 一组（联想记忆：像电池一样整齐排列）

One of a battery of related tests

一组相关测试

从词源上来说

The original meaning of battery in English was literally ‘hitting’, as in assault and battery. It came from Old French batterie, a derivative of batre, battre ‘beat’ (from which English also gets batter [14]). The ultimate source of this, and of English battle, was Latin battuere ‘beat’. The development of the word’s modern diversity of senses was via ‘bombardment by artillery’, to ‘unit of artillery’, to ‘electric cell’: it seems that this last meaning was inspired by the notion of ‘discharge of electricity’ rather than ‘connected series of cells’.

battery在英语中的原本含义是'击打'，比如 assault and battery。来自于古法语batterie，是batre, battre 'beat'的引申义（英语也从中得到了另一个单词batter(编者按：batter意思是猛击)）。这个词以及battle的最终来源是拉丁文battuere ‘beat’。这个词的现代语义是从‘被大炮轰炸’, 到 ‘炮组’, 到‘电池’：好像最后一个意思是从'电子放电的持续运动'中受启发而来，而不是'一组相连的单元'。

大家了解了吗？

从『欧打』，到『炮组』，到『电池』。

现如今，我们记住的"battery=电池"反而是最后才引申出来的意思。

真是有趣！