The concept of apparatus comes from the Latin word apparātus and has multiple uses. The first meaning mentioned by the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) refers to the grouping of elements that act together and in a coordinated way to develop a function.
For example: "My grandmother has an appliance that kneads and cooks bread in a few minutes" , "I would like you to invent an appliance capable of ironing and ordering clothes automatically" , "The government announced a millionaire investment in high-quality appliances. technology to improve hospital services ” .
An apparatus, in this sense, is a machine made up of various parts. A television, a scanner, a car, a microwave oven and a washing machine, among many other devices, can be considered as appliances.
Although we can cite a list of devices of a truly considerable length, it is not the variety in which this concept manifests itself today, but the weight it has come to have in our lives. Something that only in the second half of the 20th century could be a luxury that only the wealthiest families could afford, such as the purchase of a television or a stereo, has multiplied exponentially and today is not only normal, but "necessary."
It is no longer necessary to charge a hefty salary at the end of the month to purchase appliances, as the great competition and increasing demand in recent decades has given way to mass production, with the consequent reduction in prices. Anyone from the middle class can access a series of devices that allow them to enjoy their free time and facilitate the typical tasks of home maintenance, such as cleaning and preparing food.
In the field of biology, the group of organs that are involved in the same function is called an apparatus. The respiratory system, to cite one case, is made up of the trachea, bronchi, lungs and other organs dedicated to absorbing the oxygen present in the air to carry it to the blood and, simultaneously, to expel carbon dioxide from the body. The digestive system, the circulatory system and the reproductive system are other examples in this same context.
A set of individuals or objects, both physical and symbolic, can also be called an apparatus: “The Nationalist Party summoned its apparatus to protest against the government's decision” , “People are not satisfied with the functioning of the judicial apparatus " , " The environmentalist candidate regretted not having an apparatus to back him up .
Finally, the instruments used to perform gymnastic exercises and the device that allows to correct defects in the body of a human being can be called devices: “I was training with devices” , “When I was a child, I had to use devices on my teeth ” . Although both examples refer to decisions related to aesthetics, dental appliances can be used to straighten severely crooked dentures and thus avoid complications that exceed the limits of orthodontics.