Part 630

3. (Carp.) The framework in arched or coved ceilings to which the laths are nailed. Knight.

Craft (kr&adot;ft), n. [AS. crŠft strength, skill, art, cunning; akin to OS., G., Sw., & Dan. kraft strength, D. kracht, Icel. kraptr; perh. originally, a drawing together, stretching, from the root of E. cramp.] 1. Strength; might; secret power. [Obs.] Chaucer.

2. Art or skill; dexterity in particular manual employment; hence, the occupation or employment itself; manual art; a trade.

Ye know that by this craft we have our wealth. Acts xix. 25.

A poem is the work of the poet; poesy is his skill or craft of making. B. Jonson.

Since the birth of time, throughout all ages and nations, Has the craft of the smith been held in repute. Longfellow.

3. Those engaged in any trade, taken collectively; a guild; as, the craft of ironmongers.

The control of trade passed from the merchant guilds to the new craft guilds. J. R. Green.

4. Cunning, art, or skill, in a bad sense, or applied to bad purposes; artifice; guile; skill or dexterity employed to effect purposes by deceit or shrewd devices.

You have that crooked wisdom which is called craft. Hobbes.

The chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death. Mark xiv. 1.

5. (Naut.) A vessel; vessels of any kind; -- generally used in a collective sense.

The evolutions of the numerous tiny craft moving over the lake. Prof. Wilson.

Small crafts, small vessels, as sloops, schooners, ets.

Craft, v. t. To play tricks; to practice artifice. [Obs.]

You have crafted fair. Shak.

crafter n. a creator of great skill in the manual arts. Syn. -- craftsman. [WordNet 1.5]

Craft"i*ly (-?-l?), adv. [See Crafty.] With craft; artfully; cunningly.

Craft"i*ness (kr?ft"?-n?s), n. Dexterity in devising and effecting a purpose; cunning; artifice; stratagem.

He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. Job. v. 13.

Craft"less (-l?s), a. Without craft or cunning.

Helpless, craftless, and innocent people. Jer. Taylor.

Crafts"man (kr?fts"man), n.; pl. Craftsmen (-men). One skilled in some trade or manual occupation; an artificer; a mechanic.

Crafts"man*ship, n. The work of a craftsman.

Crafts"mas`ter (-m?s`t?r), n. One skilled in his craft or trade; one of superior cunning.

In cunning persuasion his craftsmaster. Holland.

Craft"y (kr?ft"?), a. [AS. cr&?;ftig.] 1. Relating to, or characterized by, craft or skill; dexterous. [Obs.] "Crafty work." Piers Plowman.

2. Possessing dexterity; skilled; skillful.