appliance

[Eng. apply; -ance] 1. The act of applying. "Have you done this, by the appliance And aid of doctors?" Long fellow: The Golden Legend, 1 2. Anything applied; an application. the appliances and aids for producing which they serve to transmit." J. S. Mill Polit. Econ., vol. i., bk. i, chap. xii., § 3.