crafty
English
Etymology
From Middle English crafti, crefti, from Old English cræftiġ (“ingenious; skilful; crafty; cunning; virtuous; powerful”), from Proto-Germanic *kraftagaz, *kraftugaz (“powerful”), equivalent to craft + -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian kräftich, West Frisian krêftich, Dutch krachtig, German Low German krachtig, German kräftig.
Pronunciation
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈkɹæfti/
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈkɹɑːfti/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -æfti
Adjective
crafty (comparative craftier, superlative craftiest)
- Skillful at deceiving others.
- Synonyms: cunning, wily
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Job 15:5:
- For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty.
- 22 March 2012, Scott Tobias, AV Club The Hunger Games
- Together, with the help of the drunkard Haymitch (Woody Harrelson), the only District 12 citizen ever to win the Games, they challenge tributes that range from sadistic volunteers to crafty kids like the pint-sized Rue (Amandla Stenberg) to the truly helpless and soon-to-be-dead.
- Sneaky; surreptitious.
- I took a crafty look at his hand of cards while he was out of the room.
- Relating to, or characterized by, craft or skill; dexterous.
- Possessing dexterity; skilled; skillful.
- (dated) Magical or occult, or allegedly so.
- a crafty science
Synonyms
- (skillful): See also Thesaurus:skilled
- (cunning, wily): See also Thesaurus:wily
Translations
dexterous
|
skillful
|
cunning, wily
|