CultureAugust 10, 2026
artifice
AR-tuh-fiss
Definition
A clever, subtle, or sometimes deceptive strategy, skill, or device used to achieve an effect.
Etymology
Derived from the Latin 'artificium,' meaning a craft or workmanship, which combines 'ars' (skill) and 'facere' (to make).
In the news
The author uses the phrase 'the artifice of naturalness' to describe how the writer Lewis Grassic Gibbon skillfully blended Scots dialect into English prose to create a realistic but deliberately crafted narrative style.
This Scottish literary giant's influence endures 125 years on
Read the full article ↗The National Scot