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

• Audio (US)

  (file)

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

Adjective

crafty (comparative craftier, superlative craftiest)

1. Relating to, or characterized by, craft or skill; dexterous.
2. Possessing dexterity; skilled; skillful.
3. Skillful at deceiving others; characterized by craft

   Synonyms: cunning, wily

   • 1611, Bible (King James Version), 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[1]

     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.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:wily

Translations

dexterous

• Italian: ingegnoso (it), destro (it), fantasioso (it)
• Russian: ло́вкий (ru) (lóvkij)

• Spanish: diestro (es) m
• Turkish: becerikli (tr)

skillful

• Finnish: taitava (fi), kyvykäs (fi), osaava (fi), kykenevä (fi)
• Russian: уме́лый (ru) (umélyj), иску́сный (ru) (iskúsnyj)

• Spanish: mañoso (es) m
• Turkish: becerikli (tr)

cunning, wily

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 狡猾 (zh) (jiǎohuá)

• Finnish: ovela (fi), viekas (fi)
• French: rusé (fr)
• German: gerissen (de), schlau (de), listig (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: πυκνός (puknós)

• Irish: cleasach

• Italian: furbo (it)
• Japanese: 狡猾な (ja) (こうかつな, kōkatsu na)
• Maori: mūrere, nanakia, rauhanga
• Polish: chytry (pl), przebiegły (pl), podstępny (pl)
• Russian: хи́трый (ru) (xítryj), кова́рный (ru) (kovárnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: seòlta
• Spanish: astuto (es) m
• Turkish: kurnaz (tr), cingöz (tr), açıkgöz (tr), uyanık (tr)