Ar"ti*fice (&?;), n. [L. artificium, fr. artifex artificer; ars, artis, art + facere to make: cf. F. artifice.] 1. A handicraft; a trade; art of making. [Obs.]

2. Workmanship; a skillfully contrived work.

The material universe.. in the artifice of God, the artifice of the best Mechanist.
Cudworth.

3. Artful or skillful contrivance.

His [Congreve's] plots were constructed without much artifice.
Craik.

4. Crafty device; an artful, ingenious, or elaborate trick. [Now the usual meaning.]

Those who were conscious of guilt employed numerous artifices for the purpose of averting inquiry.
Macaulay.

• a trick, device, or contrivance
  
• deception
  
• skill or cleverness