Cŭn'ning1, a.
a. [From A-S. cunn(an), to know, to be able, Goth. kunnan. See CONNY and CAN.]
Sense 1. Well-instructed; knowing; skillful; experienced. “A cunning workman.” Ex. xxxviii. 23.
'Tis beauty truly blent, whose red and white Nature's own sweet and cunning hand laid on. Shak.
Esau was a cunning hunter. Gen. xxv. 27.
I will take away the cunning artificer. Is. iii. 3.
Sense 2. Given to underhand maneuvering; sly; artful; crafty; designing.
They are resolved to be cunning; let others run the hazard of being sincere. South.
Sense 3. Wrought with, or exhibiting, skill, artfulness, or craft, in either a good or bad sense; ingenious; curious. “Cherubim of cunning work.” Ex. xxvi. 1.
Over them Arachne high doth lift Her cunning web. Spenser.
Sense 4. Characterized by attractiveness, ingenuity, &c.; as, a cunning child; a cunning contrivance. [Colloq.]
Synonyms—Artful; sly; wily.—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 dextrously 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.