n. [ L. artificium, fr. artifex artificer; ars, artis, art + facere to make: cf. F. artifice. ] 1. A handicraft; a trade; art of making. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Workmanship; a skillfully contrived work. [ 1913 Webster ]

The material universe . . . in the artifice of God, the artifice of the best Mechanist. Cudworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Artful or skillful contrivance. [ 1913 Webster ]

His [ Congreve's ] plots were constructed without much artifice. Craik. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Crafty device; an artful, ingenious, or elaborate trick. [ Now the usual meaning. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Those who were conscious of guilt employed numerous artifices for the purpose of averting inquiry. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. artificier, fr. LL. artificiarius. ] 1. An artistic worker; a mechanic or manufacturer; one whose occupation requires skill or knowledge of a particular kind, as a silversmith. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One who makes or contrives; a deviser, inventor, or framer. “Artificer of fraud.” Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

The great Artificer of all that moves. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A cunning or artful fellow. [ Obs. ] B. Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Mil.) A military mechanic, as a blacksmith, carpenter, etc.; also, one who prepares the shells, fuses, grenades, etc., in a military laboratory. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Artisan; artist. See Artisan. [ 1913 Webster ]