apparatus

See also: apparátus

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin apparātus.

Pronunciation

• • IPA^(key): /æ.pəˈɹeɪ.təs/
  • Rhymes: -eɪ.təs
• • IPA^(key): /æ.pəˈɹæ.təs/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

  • Rhymes: -ætəs
• • IPA^(key): /æpəˈɹɑːtəs/
  • Rhymes: -ɑːtəs

Noun

apparatus (plural apparatuses or apparatus)

1. The entirety of means whereby a specific production is made existent or task accomplished.
   • 2017 August 20, “The Observer view on the attacks in Spain”, in The Observer‎^[1]:

     Many jihadist plots have been foiled and the security apparatus is getting better, overall, at pre-empting those who would do us ill. But, they say, the nature of the threat and the terrorists’ increasing use of low-tech, asymmetrical tactics such as hire vehicles and knives, make it all but impossible to stop every assault.

   Synonyms: dynamic, mechanism, setup

2. A complex machine or instrument.

   Synonyms: device, instrument, machinery

3. An assortment of tools and instruments.
   • 1786, John Jeffries, Jean-Pierre Blanchard, A narrative of the two aerial Voyages of Dr. J. with Mons. Blanchard: with meteorological observations and remarks.‎^[2], page 45:

     We immediately threw out all the little things we had with us, ſuch as biſcuits, apples, &c. and after that one of our oars or wings; but ſtill deſcending, we caſt away the other wing, and then the governail ; having likewiſe had the precaution, for fear of accidents, while the Balloon was filling, partly to looſen and make it go eaſy, I now ſucceeded in attempting to reach without the Car, and unſcrewing the moulinet, with all its apparatus; I likewiſe caſt that into the ſea.

   Synonyms: tools, gear, equipment

4. A bureaucratic organization, especially one influenced by political patronage.

   Synonym: machine

5. (firefighting) A vehicle used for emergency response.
6. (gymnastics) Any of the equipment on which the gymnasts perform their movements.

   Hyponyms: parallel bars, uneven bars, vault, floor, pommel horse, rings aka still rings, horizontal bar aka high bar, balance beam

Usage notes

The word is occasionally used as an invariant plural, as in look at all of those apparatus, maintaining the Latin inflection in English on a loanword basis. But because the word also has a mass noun sense in English and it often appears in such a way that its number (singular or plural) is disguised by absence of any inflectional or lexical signals as to which of these two senses pertained in the mind of the writer, readers may parse it in either sense. Thus in the phrase he was dazzled by the electronic apparatus scattered throughout the room, either parsing works, and the reader cannot tell which one the writer had in mind, although that slight ambiguity is unimportant to the point being made.

Related terms

• apparat

Translations

entirety of means for a specific end

• Danish: apparat (da) n
• Finnish: järjestelmä (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Irish: ^{(please verify)} deis (ga) f, ^{(please verify)} fearas m, ^{(please verify)} sás m

complex machine or instrument

• Bulgarian: апарат (bg) ? (aparat)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 儀器／仪器 (zh) (yíqì), 仪器 (zh) (yíqì), 裝置／装置 (zh) (zhuāngzhì), 装置 (zh) (zhuāngzhì)

• Danish: apparat (da) n, maskineri n
• Dutch: toestel (nl) n, apparaat (nl) n
• Esperanto: aparato (eo)
• Finnish: laitteisto (fi), koneisto (fi), mekanismi (fi)
• French: appareil (fr) m
• German: Apparat (de) m

  Alemannic German: Abberahd m

• Greek: σύστημα (el) n (sýstima)

  Ancient Greek: κατασκεύασμα n (kataskeúasma)

• Hawaiian: maomeka
• Hebrew: מכשיר (he) m (makhshír)
• Indonesian: peranti (id), radas (id), alat (id), aparat (id)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Interlingue:
• Irish: ^{(please verify)} gléasra m, ^{(please verify)} sás m
• Italian: impianto (it) m, attrezzatura (it) f
• Japanese: 装置 (ja) (そうち, sōchi)
• Korean: 장치 (ko) (jangchi)
• Malay: radas
• Persian: آپارات (fa) (âpârât), دستگاه (fa) (dastgâh)
• Polish: aparat (pl) m
• Portuguese: aparelho (pt) m, equipamento (pt) m, aparato (pt) m
• Romanian: aparat (ro) n
• Russian: аппара́т (ru) m (apparát)
• Spanish: aparato (es) m, equipo (es) m
• Swedish: apparat (sv) c
• Tagalog: lansong, lansungan

assortment of tools or instruments

• Bulgarian: инструменти (bg) ? (instrumenti)
• Danish: apparat (da) n, maskineri n
• Dutch: apparaat (nl) ?
• Finnish: välineistö
• German: Apparat (de) m
• Hebrew: מנגנון (he) m (manganón)
• Indonesian: perangkat (id), peralatan (id)
• Irish: fearas m, gléasra m
• Italian: apparecchio (it) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 装置 (ja) (そうち, sōchi), 機器 (ja) (きき, kiki)
• Korean: 기구 (ko) (gigu)
• Latin: apparātus m
• Malay: radas
• Portuguese: aparato (pt) m, equipamento (pt) m
• Romanian: aparatură (ro) f, echipament (ro) n
• Russian: аппара́т (ru) m (apparát), аппарату́ра (ru) f (apparatúra), обору́дование (ru) n (oborúdovanije)
• Spanish: aparato (es) m, aparataje
• Swedish: apparat (sv) c

bureaucratic organization

• Armenian: ապարատ (hy) (aparat)
• Belarusian: апара́т m (aparát)
• Bulgarian: апарат (bg) ? (aparat)
• Czech: aparát m
• Danish: apparat (da) n, maskineri n
• Dutch: apparaat (nl) ?
• Finnish: koneisto (fi)
• French: appareil (fr) m
• German: Apparat (de) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Greek: μηχανισμός (el) m (michanismós)
• Hebrew: מערכת (he) f (ma'arékhet), מנגנון (he) m (manganón)
• Italian: sistema (it) f
• Japanese: 機構 (ja) (きこう, kikō)
• Korean: 기구 (ko) (gigu)
• Portuguese: sistema (pt) m, aparato (pt) m
• Russian: аппара́т (ru) m (apparát)
• Swedish: apparat (sv) c
• Ukrainian: апара́т (uk) m (aparát)

firefighting: vehicle for emergency response — see fire engine

gymnastics: equipment

• Finnish: teline (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

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

• Breton: ^{(please verify)} ardivink (br) m
• Georgian: ^{(please verify)} ინსტრუმენტი (insṭrumenṭi), ^{(please verify)} ხელსაწყო (xelsac̣q̇o)
• German: ^{(please verify)} Apparat (de) m
• Indonesian: ^{(please verify)} peralatan (id), ^{(please verify)} perlengkapan (id), ^{(please verify)} perkakas (id)
• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} apparato
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} sistema (it) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Malay: ^{(please verify)} radas
• Portuguese: ^{(please verify)} aparato (pt) m, ^{(please verify)} protocolo (pt) m
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} apparat (sv) c, ^{(please verify)} system (sv) n, ^{(please verify)} mekanism (sv) c
• Telugu: ^{(please verify)} పరికరం (te) (parikaraṁ)
• Turkish: ^{(please verify)} mekanizma (tr)

---

Latin

Etymology

Perfect passive participle of apparō (“prepare”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ap.paˈraː.tus/, [äpːäˈräːt̪ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ap.paˈra.tus/, [äpːäˈräːt̪us]

Participle

apparātus (feminine apparāta, neuter apparātum, comparative apparātior, superlative apparātissimus); first/second-declension participle

1. prepared, ready, having been prepared
2. supplied, furnished, having been supplied
3. magnificent, sumptuous, elaborate

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

Number	Singular				Plural
Case / Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	apparātus	apparāta	apparātum		apparātī	apparātae	apparāta
Genitive	apparātī	apparātae	apparātī		apparātōrum	apparātārum	apparātōrum
Dative	apparātō		apparātō		apparātīs
Accusative	apparātum	apparātam	apparātum		apparātōs	apparātās	apparāta
Ablative	apparātō	apparātā	apparātō		apparātīs
Vocative	apparāte	apparāta	apparātum		apparātī	apparātae	apparāta

• comparative: apparātior, superlative: apparātissimus

Noun

apparātus m (genitive apparātūs); fourth declension

1. preparation, a getting ready
2. A providing
3. tools, implements, instruments, engines
4. supplies, material
5. magnificence, splendor, pomp
6. vocative singular of apparātus

Declension

Fourth-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	apparātus	apparātūs
Genitive	apparātūs	apparātuum
Dative	apparātuī	apparātibus
Accusative	apparātum	apparātūs
Ablative	apparātū	apparātibus
Vocative	apparātus	apparātūs

Descendants

• Catalan: aparat
• English: apparatus
• French: apparat
• Galician: aparato
• German: Apparat
  • → Romanian: aparat
  • → Russian: аппара́т (apparát) (see there for further descendants)
  • → Turkish: aparat

• Italian: apparato
• Portuguese: aparato
• Spanish: aparato
• Swedish: apparat

Noun

(deprecated template usage) apparātūs m

1. genitive singular of apparātus
2. nominative plural of apparātus
3. accusative plural of apparātus
4. vocative plural of apparātus

References

• “apparatus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “apparatus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• apparatus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• apparatus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[3], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to entertain, regale a person: accipere aliquem (bene, copiose, laute, eleganter, regio apparatu, apparatis epulis)
    
  • preparations for war; war-material: apparatus (rare in plur.) belli
    
• apparatus in Ramminger, Johann (2016 July 16 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[4], pre-publication website, 2005-2016