Ap"pa*ratus (&?;), n.;
pl. Apparatus, also rarely
Apparatuses (&?;). [L., from apparare, apparatum, to prepare; ad + prepare to make ready.]
1. Things provided as means to some end.
2. Hence: A full
collection or set of implements, or utensils, for a
given duty, experimental or operative; any complex instrument or appliance, mechanical or chemical, for a specific action or operation; machinery; mechanism.
3.
(Physiol.) A collection of organs all of which
unite in a common function; as, the respiratory apparatus.
Hear it pronounced