contraption

English

WOTD – 18 March 2008

Etymology

Possibly a Western US English dialectal word Unknown origin. Perhaps from contrive + trap + -tion, while also possibly approximating construction. Chambers suggests contrivance + adaption[1]. Neither Chambers nor Concise Oxford suggests a US origin. cf cantrip (Scots dialect), a wilful piece of trickery.

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation, US) IPA^(key): /kənˈtɹæp.ʃən/
Audio (US) (file)
Audio (AU) (file)

Noun

contraption (plural contraptions)

A machine that is complicated and precarious.
(figuratively, derogatory or ironic) Any object.
- 1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter XII, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, OCLC 1227855:
  “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

Finnish: vekotin (fi), vempain (fi), vehje (fi), hilavitkutin (fi)
French: machin (fr) m, bidule (fr) m
German: Apparat (de) m, Gerät (de) n, Vorrichtung (de) f, Erfindung (de) f
Greek:
Ancient Greek: κατασκεύασμα n (kataskeúasma)
Hungarian: szerkezet (hu)
Italian: aggeggio (it) m

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

object referred to with irony, derision or contempt

Finnish: härveli (fi), rakkine (fi)
German: Ding (de) n, Objekt (de) n, Gerät (de) n, Machwerk (de) n
Hungarian: szerkentyű (hu)
Italian: trabiccolo m, ferro vecchio m, catorcio (it) m

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, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

Icelandic: ^{(please verify)} tæki (is) n
Italian: ^{(please verify)} aggeggio (it) m, ^{(please verify)} congegno (it) m, ^{(please verify)} coso (it) m, ^{(please verify)} diavoleria f

Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} sprava (sh), ^{(please verify)} naprava (sh), ^{(please verify)} скаламерија f (skalamerija)

References

Chambers Dictionary, Edinburgh, 1998, s.v.

[1] Chambers Dictionary, Edinburgh, 1998, s.v.