Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Leyden jar \Ley"den jar"\ (l[imac]"d'n j[aum]r"; 277). Leyden
phial \Ley"den phi"al\ (f[imac]"al).(Elec.)
   A glass jar or bottle used to accumulate electricity. It is
   coated with tin foil, within and without, nearly to its top,
   and is surmounted by a brass knob which communicates with the
   inner coating, for the purpose of charging it with
   electricity. It is so named from having been invented in
   Leyden, Holland.