Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Contraption \Con*trap"tion\, n.
   A contrivance; a new-fangled device; -- used scornfully.
   [Colloq. or Dial.] -- {Con*trap"tious}, a.

         We all remember some of the extraordinary contraptions
         which have been thus evolved and put upon the market.
                                                  --F. M. Ware.

Source : WordNet®

contraption
     n : a device that is very useful for a particular job [syn: {appliance},
          {contrivance}, {convenience}, {gadget}, {gizmo}, {gismo},
          {widget}]