From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Cunning \Cun"ning\ (k[u^]n"n[i^]ng), a. [AS. cunnan to know, to
be able. See 1st Con, Can.]
1. Knowing; skillful; dexterous. "A cunning workman." -- Ex.
xxxviii. 23.
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"Tis beauty truly blent, whose red and white
Nature's own sweet and cunning hand laid on. --Shak.
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Esau was a cunning hunter. --Gen xxv. 27.
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2. Wrought with, or exhibiting, skill or ingenuity;
ingenious; curious; as, cunning work.
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Over them Arachne high did lift
Her cunning web. --Spenser.
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3. Crafty; sly; artful; designing; deceitful.
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They are resolved to be cunning; let others run the
hazard of being sincere. --South.
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4. Pretty or pleasing; as, a cunning little boy. [Colloq.
U.S.] --Barlett.
Syn: Cunning, Artful, Sly, Wily, Crafty.
Usage: 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 dexterously 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.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Cunning \Cun"ning\, n. [AS. cunnung trial, or Icel. kunnandi
knowledge. See Cunning, a.]
1. Knowledge; art; skill; dexterity. [Archaic]
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Let my right hand forget her cunning. --Ps. cxxxvii.
5.
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A carpenter's desert
Stands more in cunning than in power. --Chapman.
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2. The faculty or act of using stratagem to accomplish a
purpose; fraudulent skill or dexterity; deceit; craft.
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Discourage cunning in a child; cunning is the ape of
wisdom. --Locke.
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We take cunning for a sinister or crooked wisdom.
--Bacon.
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