crafty

From Middle English crafty, crefty, craftiȝ, from Old English cræftiġ (“ingenious; skilful; crafty; cunning; virtuous; powerful”), from Proto-West Germanic *kraftag, *kraftīg, *kraftug, from Proto-Germanic *kraftugaz (“powerful”), equivalent to craft +‎ -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian kräftich, krääftig, West Frisian krêftich, Dutch krachtig, German Low German krachtig, German kräftig.

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈkɹæfti/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkɹɑːfti/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æfti

crafty (comparative craftier, superlative craftiest)

1. Skillful at deceiving others.

   Synonyms: cunning, wily

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 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.

2. Sneaky; surreptitious.

   I took a crafty look at his hand of cards while he was out of the room.

3. Relating to, or characterized by, craft or skill; dexterous.
4. Possessing dexterity; skilled; skillful.
5. (dated) Magical or occult, or allegedly so.

   a crafty science

• (skillful): See also Thesaurus:skilled
• (cunning, wily): See also Thesaurus:wily

• craftiness