Contrivance
/kənˈtraɪvəns/noun
A clever device, plan, or arrangement, especially one created to achieve a particular purpose.
Did you know?Contrivance originally referred simply to the act of inventing or devising; its modern sense can suggest something overly elaborate, artificial, or even deceptively engineered.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*terp- / *trep-
“A proposed ancient root associated with turning or changing direction; its connection to later Greek forms is probable but not certain.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
tropos
“A turn, direction, or figurative turn of expression; the source of English trope.”
Late Antiquity
Late Latin
contropare
“A likely source meaning to invent or devise, probably formed with com- and a verb related to Greek tropos.”
13th Century
Old French
controver
“To find, invent, or devise; the form from which English contrive developed.”
Middle English
English
contreven / contriven
“To devise, plan, or invent.”
17th Century
English
contrivance
“The act of contriving, and later a device, plan, or ingeniously arranged mechanism.”
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