Etymology

Noun

1. Any piece of equipment made for a particular purpose, especially a mechanical or electrical one.

   There are a number of household devices in a kitchen such as a dishwasher, a garbage disposal, or an electric can opener.

   • 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 ...

2. A project or scheme, often designed to deceive; a stratagem; an artifice.

   • His device is against Babylon, to destroy it.

   • 1827 Hallam, Henry, The English Constitution, Harper

     Their recent device of demanding benevolences.

   • He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.

3. A technique that an author or speaker uses to evoke an emotional response in the audience; a rhetorical device.
4. 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.
   • 1736. O'Callaghan, Edmund Bailey. The Documentary History of the State of New York Chapter I, Article III: Enumeration of the Indian Tribes.

     The devices of these savages are the serpent, the Deer, and the Small Acorn.

5. An image used in whole or in part as a trademark or service mark.
6. 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.

7. A spectacle or show.
8. Opinion; decision.
9. 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

Synonyms

Noun