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What Do Double Entendres Mean?A double entendre is a subtle literary device that uses one statement to convey two very different meanings. Taken literally, a double entendre is usually an innocent statement that has no ironic or inappropriate overtones. Taken another way, the same statement often can mean something too indelicate to be said in polite company. A double entendre can also work in reverse, with an apparently dirty …
Nearby words
Origin of device
1375–1425; blend of late Middle English devis division, discourse and devise heraldic device, will; both < Anglo-French, Old French < Latin dīvīsa, feminine of dīvīsus; see division
Related forms
de·vice·ful, adjectivede·vice·ful·ly, adverbde·vice·ful·ness, nounCan be confused
device deviseDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for device
British Dictionary definitions for device
device
/ (dɪˈvaɪs) /
noun
Word Origin for device
C13: from Old French devis purpose, contrivance and devise difference, intention, from deviser to divide, control; see devise
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Medicine definitions for device
device
[ dĭ-vīs′ ]
n.
A contrivance or an invention serving a particular purpose, especially a machine used to perform one or more relatively simple tasks.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Idioms and Phrases with device
device
see leave to someone's own devices.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.