Hypertext Webster Gateway: "appliance"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Appliance \Ap*pli"ance\, n.
1. The act of applying; application; [Obs.] subservience.
--Shak.
2. The thing applied or used as a means to an end; an
apparatus or device; as, to use various appliances; a
mechanical appliance; a machine with its appliances.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
appliance
n 1: a device that very useful for a particular job [syn: {contraption},
{contrivance}, {convenience}, {gadget}, {gizmo}, {gismo},
{widget}]
2: durable goods for home or office use
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