Main Entry:

ar·ti·fice

Pronunciation:

\ˈär-tə-fəs\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Middle French, from Latin artificium, from artific-, artifex artificer, from Latin art-, ars + facere

Date:

circa 1604

1 a: clever or artful skill : ingenuity <believing that characters had to be created from within rather than with artifice — Garson Kanin> b: an ingenious device or expedient2 a: an artful stratagem : trick b: false or insincere behavior <social artifice>

synonyms see trick, art