I am having an argument with my cousin after I called a tractor a "device." He argues that tractors are machines, but never "devices."
Thoughts, folks?
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Of possibly related interest: english.stackexchange.com/questions/7676/… , english.stackexchange.com/questions/8283/… .– chosterAug 9, 2013 at 21:27
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1Assuming you are quoting him correcty, I have a bigger problem with your cousin's use of the overly restrictive "never" than your use of the rather imprecise "device." :^)– J.R.Aug 10, 2013 at 11:19
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I agree with J.R. that the word "never" is an overstatement. It may seem unusual in most contexts to a natural English speaker, but there are contexts, as Edwin Ashworth mentioned below, where "device" actually IS the better choice.– TecBratAug 10, 2013 at 11:57
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4 Answers
The notion that one cannot call a tractor a “device” is mistaken, albeit not misguided. That is, tractors are usually called tractors instead of devices. (Note, a common sense of device is “Any piece of equipment made for a particular purpose, especially a mechanical or electrical one”.)
Historically, some agricultural equipment has been referred to by the term device. Here is a portion of the OED1 (1897) entry for device, with two of the example sentences:
7. ... an invention, contrivance ; esp. a mechanical contrivance (usually of a simple character) for some particular purpose. ... 1577: the devise was, a lowe kinde of Carre with a couple of wheeles, and the Front armed with sharpe Syckles, which forced by the beast through the Corne, did cut downe al before it. ... 1874: The devices for baling cut hay.
answered Aug 9, 2013 at 19:04
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I guess the question is whether a machine like a tractor may be included in the class of devices... That is, semantically, would a device be the superclass for machines? Aug 9, 2013 at 19:12
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1@zealoushacker, yes, a machine like a tractor is in the class of devices. Re superclass or hypernym relationships, I don't know. Simple machines are in the class of devices, and complex machines may contain vast numbers of devices, making a class relation unclear (to me). Aug 9, 2013 at 19:24
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@bib, in “forced by the beast through the Corne” beast refers to the motive power for the harvester, rather than the harvester itself. Nowadays that would be a tractor (unless the harvester is self-propelled, in which case it would refer to an engine and drive-train), and back in 1577, would have been an ox, mule, or horse. Aug 9, 2013 at 21:55
I normally think of device as "A contrivance or an invention serving a particular purpose, especially a machine used to perform one or more relatively simple tasks".
Given that definition, it is not a great word for tractor, which is a very complex and adaptable machine, capable of performing all kinds of tasks.
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2[Man] has devised the tractor, the motor-car and all other machinery (Internet) is surely quite admissible. Anything (including abstract concepts) that has been devised can surely be termed a device. However, like the vast majority of people, I'm sure, I'd rarely if ever call a tractor a device (the exception being if I were highlighting the fact that it has been devised). Language is idiosyncratic. Aug 9, 2013 at 22:01
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@EdwinAshworth, exactly...or if Odysseus had invented the tractor, it may be more natural to number it among his "many devices" :) Aug 10, 2013 at 14:16
According to Oxford Dictionary:
A device is:
a thing made or adapted for a particular purpose,
especially a piece of mechanical or electronic equipment
A machine is:
an apparatus using or applying mechanical power and having several parts,
each with a definite function and together performing
Technically a tractor could be either, by these definitions. However common use refers to device as a smaller item (something that can be held in your hand as it is used). I usually imagine device as something small and easily portable, and a machine as a larger item.
A tractor is a tool that can be used. But a device is a tool that is actually used. The word 'devise' assumes use, but machine does not. A pencil is a tool but it is not actually a device until it is used, then it is a device. A machine is a machine only, and not a device, if it is not used. But if it is used, it is a device. A machine is a machine whether it is used or not.
