contrivance Copy link Outline I. The act of contriving1. excōgĭtātio, inventio2. māchĭnātio3. mōlītio (implying effort)II. Thing contrived1. ars, artĭfĭcium2. inventum3. (in comic writers)4. māchĭna5. May be expr. with verb • contrivance: I. The act of contriving: 1. excōgĭtātio, inventio: v. invention. 2. māchĭnātio: there has been given to some brutes a sort of c., data est quibusdam bestiis m. quaedam, Cic. 3. mōlītio (implying effort): Cic. (N.B. The notion may sometimes be conveyed by means of the plur. of concrete substantives: as, by whose c. was it brought about? quorum artificiis effectum est? Cic.: laying aside c. and deceit, remotis strophis et fucis, Sen.: see L. G. 591.) II. Thing contrived: 1. ars, artĭfĭcium: v. artifice. 2. inventum: all the Gods bring perdition on you, with that c. and project of yours! ut te omnes Dii cum istoc in. atque incepto perduint! Ter. 3. (in comic writers): strŏpha, techna: v. trick. 4. māchĭna: I will devise some c. for getting gold, aliquam machinabor m. unde aurum efficiam, Plaut.: Cic.: Quint. 5. May be expr. with verb: as, O elever c.! O rem excogitatam! Cic.: to hit upon some c., aliquid comminisci atque excogitare: v. foll. art.