Contrivances

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A method or device cleverly designed to achieve a specific purpose
2. An ingenious or often artificial mechanism that facilitates a particular function
3. A scheme or invention created to solve a problem or fulfill a need

Etymology: Contrivances is simply the plural of "contrivance," and the noun is built from the verb "contrive" plus the suffix "-ance." The verb "contrive" came into English from Old French "controver," meaning to find or devise, and it originally carried the sense of inventing or planning something, sometimes with a sly or deceptive edge. The suffix "-ance," which turns verbs into nouns denoting an action, a state, or its result, descends through Old French "-ance" from Latin "-antia," so a contrivance is literally the result of contriving. Over time the word narrowed from the act of devising to the thing devised. A contrivance is therefore a device or arrangement produced by that planning, and the sense of cleverness in the original verb survives in its ingenious, sometimes makeshift character. The "artificial" quality in the definition reflects the same origin: a contrivance is something made by human design rather than occurring naturally.

Synonyms: inventions, devices, gadgets, mechanisms, machines

Antonyms: natural occurrences, spontaneities, accidents, coincidences, serendipities