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apparatus

 [ap-uh-rat-uhs, -rey-tuhs]   Example Sentences Origin

ap·pa·rat·us

   [ap-uh-rat-uhs, -rey-tuhs]
noun, plural ap·pa·rat·us, ap·pa·rat·us·es.
1.
a group or combination of instruments, machinery, tools, materials, etc., having a particular function or intended for a specific use: Our town has excellent fire-fighting apparatus.
2.
any complex instrument or mechanism for a particular purpose.
3.
any system or systematic organization of activities, functions, processes, etc., directed toward a specific goal: the apparatus of government; espionage apparatus.
4.
Physiology. a group of structurally different organs working together in the performance of a particular function: the digestive apparatus.
Origin:
1620–30; < Latin apparātus equipment, orig. the act of equipping, preparation, equivalent to apparā(re) to prepare (ap- ap-1 + parāre; see prepare) + -tus suffix of v. action

Synonyms
2. machine, appliance, device, contraption, contrivance.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Apparatus is always a great word to know.
So is vicarious. Does it mean:
noting a structure for conveying an impulse that results or tends to result in sensation such as a nerve
noting or pertaining to a situation in which one organ performs part of the functions normally performed by another
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Example Sentences
  • Now I want to know what a scholarly apparatus is.
  • The apparatus also makes use of a wide network of informers.
  • Scientists have reported that by bombarding a liquid with sound they were able to produce nuclear fusion in a tabletop apparatus.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
apparatus (ˌæpəˈreɪtəs, -ˈrɑːtəs, ˈæpəˌreɪtəs)
 
—n , pl -ratus, -ratuses
1.  a collection of instruments, machines, tools, parts, or other equipment used for a particular purpose
2.  a machine having a specific function: breathing apparatus
3.  the means by which something operates; organization: the apparatus of government
4.  anatomy any group of organs having a specific function
 
[C17: from Latin, from apparāre to make ready]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

apparatus
1620s, from L. apparatus "equipment, preparation," n. of state from pp. of apparare "prepare," from ad- "to" + parare "make ready" (see pare).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

apparatus ap·pa·ra·tus (āp'ə-rā'təs, -rāt'əs)
n. pl. apparatus or ap·pa·ra·tus·es

  1. An integrated group of materials or devices used for a particular purpose.

  2. A group or system of organs that collectively performs a specific function or process.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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