From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Contrivance \Con*triv"ance\, n.
1. The act or faculty of contriving, inventing, devising, or
planning.
[1913 Webster]
The machine which we are inspecting demonstrates, by
its construction, contrivance and design.
Contrivance must have had a contriver. --Paley.
[1913 Webster]
2. The thing contrived, invented, or planned; disposition of
parts or causes by design; a scheme; plan; artifice;
arrangement.
[1913 Webster]
Government is a contrivance of human wisdom to
provide for human wants. --Burke.
Syn: Device; plan; scheme; invention; machine; project;
design; artifice; shift. See Device.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
contrivance
n 1: a device or control that is very useful for a particular
job [syn: appliance, contraption, contrivance,
convenience, gadget, gizmo, gismo, widget]
2: the faculty of contriving; inventive skill; "his skillful
contrivance of answers to every problem"
3: an elaborate or deceitful scheme contrived to deceive or
evade; "his testimony was just a contrivance to throw us off
the track" [syn: contrivance, stratagem, dodge]
4: an artificial or unnatural or obviously contrived arrangement
of details or parts etc.; "the plot contained too many
improbable contrivances to be believable"
5: any improvised arrangement for temporary use [syn: lash-up,
contrivance]
6: the act of devising something [syn: devisal, contrivance]