cunning

a. [ AS. cunnan to know, to be able. See 1st Con, Can. ] 1. Knowing; skillful; dexterous. “A cunning workman.” Ex. xxxviii. 23. [ 1913 Webster ]

“Tis beauty truly blent, whose red and white
Nature's own sweet and cunning hand laid on. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Esau was a cunning hunter. Gen xxv. 27. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Wrought with, or exhibiting, skill or ingenuity; ingenious; curious; as, cunning work. [ 1913 Webster ]

Over them Arachne high did lift Her cunning web. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Crafty; sly; artful; designing; deceitful. [ 1913 Webster ]

They are resolved to be cunning; let others run the hazard of being sincere. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Pretty or pleasing; as, a cunning little boy. [ Colloq. U.S. ] Barlett.

Syn. -- Cunning, Artful, Sly, Wily, Crafty. -- These epithets agree in expressing an aptitude for attaining some end by peculiar and secret means. Cunning is usually low; as, a cunning trick. Artful is more ingenious and inventive; as, an artful device. Sly implies a turn for what is double or concealed; as, sly humor; a sly evasion. Crafty denotes a talent for dexterously deceiving; as, a crafty manager. Wily describes a talent for the use of stratagems; as, a wily politician. A cunning man often shows his dexterity in simply concealing. An artful man goes further, and exerts his ingenuity in misleading. A crafty man mingles cunning with art, and so shapes his actions as to lull suspicions. The young may be cunning, but the experienced only can be crafty. Slyness is a vulgar kind of cunning; the sly man goes cautiously and silently to work. Wiliness is a species of cunning or craft applicable only to cases of attack and defense.” Crabb. [ 1913 Webster ]