apparatus

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin apparātus. Doublet of apparat.

noun

1. The entirety of means whereby a specific production is made existent or task accomplished.
   These television stations are part of the apparatus and power of Milosevic. This is the apparatus he has used to do the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. It is the apparatus that keeps him in power and we are entirely justified as Nato allies in damaging and taking on those targets. 1999-04-24, Martin Kettle, Alex Brummer, quoting Tony Blair, “The bombing goes on”, in The Guardian
   Among the many good points Thomas Piketty makes in Capital in the Twenty First Century – his world-changing but surprisingly mild book – is that extreme inequality can be sustained politically only through an “apparatus of justification”. 2014-07-29, George Monbiot, “The rich want us to believe their wealth is good for us all”, in The Guardian
   Many jihadist plots have been foiled and the security apparatus is getting better, overall, at pre-empting those who would do us ill. But, they say, the nature of the threat and the terrorists’ increasing use of low-tech, asymmetrical tactics such as hire vehicles and knives, make it all but impossible to stop every assault. August 20, 2017, “The Observer view on the attacks in Spain”, in The Observer
   It describes a “coordinated effort by the CCP’s propaganda apparatus … to discredit the BBC, distract international attention and recapture control of the narrative,” mostly outside Chinese borders. 2021-03-04, Emma Graham-Harrison, “China's Communist party ran campaign to discredit BBC, thinktank finds”, in The Guardian
2. A complex machine or instrument.
   An apparatus for exploring the atmosphere of a planet such as Venus, at a specific altitude, was patented this week for a French agency, the Office Nationale d'Etudes et de Recherche Aerospatiales. 1983-07-30, Stacy V. Jones, “Apparatus For Study Of Planets”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
3. (collective) An assortment of tools and instruments.
   We immediately threw out all the little things we had with us, ſuch as biſcuits, apples, &c. and after that one of our oars or wings; but ſtill deſcending, we caſt away the other wing, and then the governail ; having likewiſe had the precaution, for fear of accidents, while the Balloon was filling, partly to looſen and make it go eaſy, I now ſucceeded in attempting to reach without the Car, and unſcrewing the moulinet, with all its apparatus; I likewiſe caſt that into the ſea. 1786, John Jeffries, Jean-Pierre Blanchard, A narrative of the two aerial Voyages of Dr. J. with Mons. Blanchard: with meteorological observations and remarks., page 45
4. A bureaucratic organization, especially one influenced by political patronage.
   In English fiction—that is to say British fiction in the English language tradition—it is a subtle question because we dislike thinking abstractly and conceptualisation of government, where it exists, is vague and confused. Take bishops: they sat as legislators and so were part of the governing apparatus. 2006-04-03, David Walker, “Beyond her imagination”, in The Guardian
5. (firefighting) A vehicle used for emergency response.
6. (gymnastics) Any of the equipment on which the gymnasts perform their movements.
7. (video games) A complex, highly modified weapon (typically not a firearm); a weaponized “Rube Goldberg machine.”