A hair; hence, the fiber of wool, cotton, and the like; also, the nap when thick or heavy, as of carpeting and velvet. "Velvet soft, or plush with shaggy pile."
2.
(Zool.) A covering of hair or fur.
Pile n. The head of an arrow or spear. (Obs.)
Pile n.
1.
A large stake, or piece of timber, pointed and driven into the earth, as at the bottom of a river, or in a harbor where the ground is soft, for the support of a building, a pier, or other superstructure, or to form a cofferdam, etc. Note: Tubular iron piles are now much used.
2.
(Her.) One of the ordinaries or subordinaries having the form of a wedge, usually placed palewise, with the broadest end uppermost.
Pile bridge, a bridge of which the roadway is supported on piles.
Pile cap, a beam resting upon and connecting the heads of piles.
Pile driver, or Pile engine, an apparatus for driving down piles, consisting usually of a high frame, with suitable appliances for raising to a height (by animal or steam power, the explosion of gunpowder, etc.) a heavy mass of iron, which falls upon the pile.
(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.
Pile v. t. To drive piles into; to fill with piles; to strengthen with piles.
To sheet-pile, to make sheet piling in or around. See Sheet piling, under 2nd Piling.
Pile v. t. (past & past part. piled; pres. part. piling)
1.
To lay or throw into a pile or heap; to heap up; to collect into a mass; to accumulate; to amass; often with up; as, to pile up wood. "Hills piled on hills.""Life piled on life.""The labor of an age in piled stones."
2.
To cover with heaps; or in great abundance; to fill or overfill; to load.
To pile armsTo pile muskets (Mil.), to place three guns together so that they may stand upright, supporting each other; to stack arms.
... keen eyes detected the form of a man slinking along among the bushes. Dane could not see his face, but from his attitude it was quite evident that the girl near the fire was the object of his special attention. At length he stopped, and, crouching behind a small pile of brush kept his eyes fixed ... — The King's Arrow - A Tale of the United Empire Loyalists • H. A. Cody Read full book for free!
... caught a pile of bedding from a neighboring closet and arranged it upon the floor, near the fire. Mr. Dubois laid the stranger down upon it. Mr. Norton immediately rose from the tea-table, drew off the boots of the fainting man, ... — Adele Dubois - A Story of the Lovely Miramichi Valley in New Brunswick • Mrs. William T. Savage Read full book for free!
... was a thrifty man, and got his supply of turf early in the season. He would cut it out in long black blocks, like thick mud, and leave it in the sun to dry. When it was quite dry he would carry it home on Colleen's back, pile it in a high turf-stack near the kitchen door, and it would burn in the ... — The Irish Twins • Lucy Fitch Perkins Read full book for free!
... thoughtless innocence, luxuriously felt and appreciated under the thatched roof of the cottage, but unknown and unattainable beneath the massive pile of a royal palace and a gemmed crown! Scarcely had I entered my teens when my adopted parents strewed flowers of the sweetest fragrance to lead me to the sacred altar, that promised the bliss of busses, but which, too soon, from the foul machinations of envy, jealousy, avarice, and a still ... — Marguerite de Navarre - Memoirs of Marguerite de Valois Queen of Navarre • Marguerite de Navarre Read full book for free!
... present at the opening, which was performed in the dining-room by Mr. Atmore himself—all the servants peeping in at the door. As soon as a part of the lid was split off, and a handful of the straw removed, a pile of plates appeared, all separately wrapped in India paper. Each of the family snatched up a plate and hastily tore off the covering. There were the flowers glowing in beautiful colors, and the gold star and ... — The Wit and Humor of America, Volume V. (of X.) • Various Read full book for free!
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