What’s the difference between device and devise?
Devise is a verb meaning “to invent or plan”. Device is a noun that refers to “an object or a piece of equipment that has been designed to do a particular job”. Device may aid in devising.
The distinction between them is clearer in context:
The new devices will be installed at US airports.
A new system has been devised to control traffic in the city.
“Devise” / “device”, used in sentences
| Examples: “devise” used in sentences |
|---|
| Scientists have devised a method of recycling the contaminated oil. We must devise a new system for dealing with complaints. |
| Examples: “device” used in sentences |
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| The new devices will be installed at US airports. We now have electrical labour-saving devices around the home. This device allows deaf people to communicate by typing messages instead of speaking. |
Devise, synonyms
- arrange
- come up with
- concoct
- construct
- craft
- create
- design
- discover
- forge
- formulate
- hatch
- invent
Device, synonyms
- accessory
- apparatus
- appliance
- equipment
- gadget
- gear
- machine
- material
- mechanism
Word origin (of device/devise)
Early 13c., devisen, “to form, fashion;” c. 1300, “to plan, contrive, think or study out, elaborate in the mind,” from Old French deviser “dispose in portions, arrange, plan, contrive” (in Modern French, “to chat, gossip”), from Vulgar Latin *divisare.
Read about other misused words
Sources
- Oxford Learner’s Dictionary on “devise” and “device”. Accessed 7 April, 2024.
- Harper, Douglas. “Etymology of device.” Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/device. Accessed 7 April, 2024.
