different between artfull vs artifice

English

Adjective

artfull (comparative more artfull, superlative most artfull)

1. Obsolete spelling of artful
   • 1612: George Wither, Epithalamia: or, Nuptiall Poems upon the mo?t Ble??ed and Happie Mariage betweene the High and Mightie Prince Frederick the fifth, Count Palatine of the Rhein, Duke of Bauier, &c., And the mo?t Vertuous, Gracious and Thrice Excellent Prince??e, Elizabeth, ?ole Daughter to our dread Soueraigne, Iames by the grace of God King of Great Britaine, France and Ireland, defender of the Faith, &c.; Celebrated at White-Hall the fourteenth of Februarie, 1613, page unknown:

     The nights ?trange * pro?pects, made to feede the eyes;
     With Artfull fyres, mounted in the skies:
     Graced with horred claps of ?ulphury thunders;
     May make your mind, Iehouahs greater wonders.

English

Etymology

From Middle French artifice, from Latin artificium.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???(?)t?f?s/

Noun

artifice (countable and uncountable, plural artifices)

1. A crafty but underhanded deception.
2. A trick played out as an ingenious, but artful, ruse.
3. A strategic maneuver that uses some clever means to avoid detection or capture.
4. A tactical move to gain advantage.
5. (archaic) Something made with technical skill; a contrivance.

Translations

Verb

artifice (third-person singular simple present artifices, present participle artificing, simple past and past participle artificed)

1. To construct by means of skill or specialised art

Related terms

• artificial

Further reading

• artifice at OneLook Dictionary Search
• artifice in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• actifier

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin artificium.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a?.ti.fis/

Noun

artifice m (plural artifices)

1. artifice, trick, ploy
2. (literary) device

Derived terms

• artificiel
• feu d'artifice
• sans artifice

Further reading

• “artifice” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Latin

Noun

artifice

1. ablative singular of artifex