adj · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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CMU ARPABET:F OW2 T AH0 V OW2 L T EY1 IH0 K
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Producing a voltage when exposed to light.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: photoelectric
Antonyms: none provided
2
adjective
Meaning 2
producing a voltage when exposed to radiant energy (especially light)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bheh2- Proto-Indo-European *bhéh2os Proto-Hellenic *pháwos Ancient Greek φᾰ́ος (phắos) Ancient Greek φῶς (phôs) Ancient Greek φωτο- (phōto-)der. English photo- Italian Voltabor. English Volta Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icuslbor. Old French -iquebor. Middle English -ik English -ic English voltaic English photovoltaic From photo- + voltaic.
Across languages
Translations
22 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Catalan:
fotovoltaic
— producing a voltage when exposed to light
Czech:
fotovoltaický
— producing a voltage when exposed to light
Dutch:
fotovoltaïsch
— producing a voltage when exposed to light
Finnish:
valosähköinen
— producing a voltage when exposed to light
French:
photovoltaïque
— producing a voltage when exposed to light
Georgian:
ფოტოელექტრული
(poṭoelekṭruli)
— producing a voltage when exposed to light
Georgian:
ფოტოვოლტაიკური
(poṭovolṭaiḳuri)
— producing a voltage when exposed to light
German:
fotovoltaisch
— producing a voltage when exposed to light
German:
photovoltaisch
— producing a voltage when exposed to light
Greek:
φωτοβολταϊκός
(fotovoltaïkós)
— producing a voltage when exposed to light
Irish:
fótavoltach
— producing a voltage when exposed to light
Italian:
fotovoltaico
— producing a voltage when exposed to light
Norwegian Bokmål:
fotovoltaisk
— producing a voltage when exposed to light
Norwegian Nynorsk:
fotovoltaisk
— producing a voltage when exposed to light
Portuguese:
fotovoltaico
— producing a voltage when exposed to light
Romanian:
fotovoltaic
— producing a voltage when exposed to light
Russian:
фотоэлектри́ческий
(fotoelektríčeskij)
— producing a voltage when exposed to light
Russian:
фотогальвани́ческий
(fotogalʹvaníčeskij)
— producing a voltage when exposed to light
Russian:
фотовольтаи́ческий
(fotovolʹtaíčeskij)
— producing a voltage when exposed to light
Spanish:
fotovoltaico
— producing a voltage when exposed to light
Swedish:
fotovoltaisk
— producing a voltage when exposed to light
Ukrainian:
фотоелектри́чний
(fotoelektrýčnyj)
— producing a voltage when exposed to light
