[ar.ti.fice] n [MF, fr. L artificium, fr. artific-, artifex artificer, fr. L art-, ars + facere] (ca. 1604) 1 a: clever or artful skill: ingenuity "believing that characters had to be created from within rather than with ~ --Garson Kanin" b: an ingenious device or expedient
2. a: an artful stratagem: trick b: false or insincere behavior "social ~" syn see trick, art