polyphase circuit

polyphase circuit

[′päl·i‚fāz ′sər·kət]

(electricity)

Group of alternating-current circuits (usually interconnected) which enter (or leave) a delimited region at more than two points of entry; they are intended to be so energized that, in the steady state, the alternating currents through the points of entry, and the alternating potential differences between them, all have exactly equal periods, but have differences in phase, and may have differences in waveform.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.