contraption

English

WOTD – 18 March 2008

Etymology

Possibly a Western US English dialectal word of unknown origin. Perhaps from contrive + trap + -tion, while also possibly approximating construction. Chambers suggests contrivance + adaption. Neither Chambers nor Concise Oxford suggests a US origin. Compare cantrip, cantrap (Scots dialect), a wilful piece of trickery.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA^(key): /kənˈtɹæp.ʃən/

• Audio (US)

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• Audio (AU)

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• Hyphenation: con‧trap‧tion

Noun

contraption (plural contraptions)

1. A machine that is complicated and precarious.
2. (figuratively, derogatory or ironic) Any object.
   • 1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter XII, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:

     “Yes, sir, if that was the language of love, I'll eat my hat,” said the blood relation, alluding, I took it, to the beastly straw contraption in which she does her gardening, concerning which I can only say that it is almost as foul as Uncle Tom's Sherlock Holmes deerstalker, which has frightened more crows than any other lid in Worcestershire.

Synonyms

• (mechanical device): contrivance, device, fandango, gadget, mechanism, construction

Translations

complicated and precarious machine

• Catalan: artefacte (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: apparaat (nl)
• Finnish: vekotin (fi), vempain (fi), vehje (fi), hilavitkutin (fi)
• French: machin (fr) m, bidule (fr) m
• Galician: calimbornio m
• German: neumodischer Apparat m, irres Gerät n, seltsame Vorrichtung f, Erfindung (de) f
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: κατασκεύασμα n (kataskeúasma)

• Hungarian: szerkezet (hu)
• Italian: aggeggio (it) m, congegno (it) m, marchingegno (it) m
• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Maori: autaia
• Occitan: daquòs (oc) m, èstre (oc) m
• Portuguese: engenhoca (pt), geringonça (pt)
• Russian: (хитроу́мное) приспособле́ние (ru) n (prisposoblénije), (хитроу́мное) устро́йство (ru) n (ustrójstvo)
• Serbo-Croatian: сокоћало n
• Spanish: artilugio (es) m, invento (es) m
• Swedish: manick (sv)

object referred to with irony, derision or contempt

• Dutch: machientje (nl)
• Finnish: härveli (fi), rakkine (fi)
• Galician: calimbornio m
• German: Ding (de) n, Objekt (de) n, Gerät (de) n, Machwerk (de) n
• Hungarian: szerkentyű (hu)
• Italian: trabiccolo (it) m, ferro vecchio m, catorcio (it) m, coso (it) m, diavoleria f
• Portuguese: geringonça (pt)
• Russian: штуко́вина (ru) f (štukóvina), шту́чка (ru) f (štúčka), ерунда́ (ru) f (jerundá), ерундо́вина (ru) f (jerundóvina), хрено́вина (ru) f (xrenóvina), фигня́ (ru) f (fignjá)
• Spanish: armatoste (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Icelandic: ^{(please verify)} tæki (is) n
• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} sprava (sh), ^{(please verify)} naprava (sh), ^{(please verify)} скаламерија f (skalamerija)