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Webster 1913 Edition

Device

De-vice′

,
Noun.
[OE.
devis
,
devise
, will, intention, opinion, invention, fr. F.
devis
architect’s plan and estimates (in OF., division, plan, wish),
devise
device (in sense 3), in OF. also, division, wish, last will, fr.
deviser
. See
Devise
,
Verb.
T.
, and cf.
Devise
,
Noun.
]
1.
That which is devised, or formed by design; a contrivance; an invention; a project; a scheme; often, a scheme to deceive; a stratagem; an artifice.
His
device
in against Babylon, to destroy it.
Jer. li. 11.
Their recent
device
of demanding benevolences.
Hallam.
He disappointeth the
devices
of the crafty.
Job v. 12.
2.
Power of devising; invention; contrivance.
I must have instruments of my own
device
.
Landor.
3.
(a)
An emblematic design, generally consisting of one or more figures with a motto, used apart from heraldic bearings to denote the historical situation, the ambition, or the desire of the person adopting it. See
Cognizance
.
(b)
Improperly, an heraldic bearing.
Knights-errant used to distinguish themselves by
devices
on their shields.
Addison.
A banner with this strange
device
-
Excelsior.
Longfellow.
4.
Anything fancifully conceived.
Shak.
5.
A spectacle or show.
[Obs.]
Beau. & Fl.
Syn. – Contrivance; invention; design; scheme; project; stratagem; shift.
–
Device
,
Contrivance
. Device implies more of inventive power, and contrivance more of skill and dexterity in execution. A device usually has reference to something worked out for exhibition or show; a contrivance usually respects the arrangement or disposition of things with reference to securing some end. Devices were worn by knights-errant on their shields; contrivances are generally used to promote the practical convenience of life. The word device is often used in a bad sense;
as, a crafty
device
; contrivance is almost always used in a good sense;
as, a useful
contrivance
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Device

DEVICE

,
Noun.
[L.]
1.
That which is formed by design, or invented; scheme; artificial contrivance; stratagem; project; sometimes in a good sense; more generally in a bad sense, as artifices are usually employed for bad purposes.
In a good sense:
His device is against Babylon, to destroy it. Jeremiah 51.
In a bad sense:
He disappointeth the devices of the crafty. Job 5.
They imagined a mischievous device. Psalm 212.
2.
An emblem intended to represent a family, person, action or quality, with a suitable motto; used in painting, sculpture and heraldry. It consists in a metaphorical similitude between the things representing and represented, as the figure of a plow representing agriculture.
Knights-errant used to distinguish themselves by devices on their shields.
3.
Invention; genius; faculty of devising; as a man of noble device.
4.
A spectacle or show.

Definition 2024

device

device

English

Noun

device ‎(plural devices)

  1. Any piece of equipment made for a particular purpose, especially a mechanical or electrical one.
    • 1949. Geneva Convention on Road Traffic Chapter VI. Provisions Applicable to Cycles in International Traffic
      Every cycle shall be equipped with: [...] (b) an audible warning device consisting of a bell [...]
    • 2013 June 1, “A better waterworks”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 5 (Technology Quarterly):
      An artificial kidney these days still means a refrigerator-sized dialysis machine. Such devices mimic the way real kidneys cleanse blood and eject impurities and surplus water as urine.
    There are a number of household devices in a kitchen such as a dishwasher, a garbage disposal, or an electric can opener.‎
  2. (computing) A peripheral device; an item of hardware.
  3. A project or scheme, often designed to deceive; a stratagem; an artifice.
    • 1611, Bible (KJV), Jeremiah 51:11:
      His device is against Babylon, to destroy it.
    • 1611, Bible (KJV), Job 5:12:
      He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.
    • 1827 Hallam, Henry, The English Constitution, Harper
      Their recent device of demanding benevolences.
    • 2012 March 1, Brian Hayes, “Pixels or Perish”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 106:
      Drawings and pictures are more than mere ornaments in scientific discourse. Blackboard sketches, geological maps, diagrams of molecular structure, astronomical photographs, MRI images, the many varieties of statistical charts and graphs: These pictorial devices are indispensable tools for presenting evidence, for explaining a theory, for telling a story.
  4. (Ireland) An improvised explosive device, home-made bomb
  5. (rhetoric) A technique that an author or speaker uses to evoke an emotional response in the audience; a rhetorical device.
  6. (heraldry) A motto, emblem, or other mark used to distinguish the bearer from others. A device differs from a badge or cognizance primarily because as it is a personal distinction, and not a badge borne by members of the same house successively.
  7. (archaic) Power of devising; invention; contrivance.
    • 1824. Landor, Walter Savage "King Henry IV and Sir Arnold Savage" from Imaginary Conversations of Literary Men and Statesmen, page 44
      Moreover I must have instruments of mine own device, weighty, and exceeding costly
    • 1976. The Eagles, "Hotel California"
      And she said,
      "We are all prisoners here,
      Of our own device"
  8. (law) An image used in whole or in part as a trademark or service mark.
  9. (printing) An image or logo denoting official or proprietary authority or provenience.
    • 1943 United States Post Office Department. A Description of United States Postage Stamps / Issued by the Post Office Department from July 1, 1847, to April 1, 1945 [sic], USGPO, Washington, p1:
      Prior to the issuance of the first stamps, letters accepted by postmasters for dispatch were marked "Paid" by means of pen and ink or hand stamps of various designs. [...] To facilitate the handling of mail matter, some postmasters provided special stamps or devices for use on letters as evidence of the prepayment of postage.
  10. (obsolete) A spectacle or show.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Beaumont and Fletcher to this entry?)
  11. (obsolete) Opinion; decision.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Slovene

Noun

device f

  1. genitive singular form of devica.
  2. nominative plural form of devica.
  3. accusative plural form of devica.

Etymology

Old French devis, from Latin divisus, past participle of dividere ‎(“to divide”), thus originally, when goods were being divided among people, a mark put on each item to say who was getting what.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /dəˈvaɪs/
  • Rhymes: -aɪs

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