Device, Devise
Device is a noun. Devise is a verb (with rare exceptions). [Essentially, devise has a separate set of definitions in law, as a noun referring to (1) property or lands given by will or (2) the act of transmitting such property or lands. But this information is mostly useless to non-lawyers, for whom devise is for all intents and purposes only a verb.]
The noun device has a few definitions; it can refer to (1) an invention serving a particular purpose, (2) a technique, and (3) a literary contrivance.
Devise as commonly used in verb form means to figure out a plan. Men twirling long mustaches might devise a plan to tie someone to the railroad tracks. To devise a plan is more than just making one; there's a lot of figuring out to do, such as:
(Description from The Grammarist) |