Webster's 1828 Dictionary
ARTIFICER
n.[L. artifex, from ars, and facio.] 1. An artist; a mechanic or manufacturer; one whose occupation requires skill or knowledge of a particular kind; as a silversmith, or sadler.
2. One who makes or contrives; an inventor; as an artificer of fraud or lies.
3. A cunning, or artful fellow. [not used. ]
Webster's 1913 Dictionary
ARTIFICER
Ar *tif "i *cer, n. Etym: [Cf. F. artificier, fr. LL. artificiarius.]
1. An artistic worker; a mechanic or manufacturer; one whose occupation requires skill or knowledge of a particular kind, as a silversmith.
2. One who makes or contrives; a deviser, inventor, or framer. "Artificer of fraud. " Milton. The great Artificer of all that moves. Cowper.
3. A cunning or artful fellow. [Obs. ] B. Jonson.
4. (Mil. )
Defn: A military mechanic, as a blacksmith, carpenter, etc. ; also, one who prepares the shells, fuses, grenades, etc. , in a military laboratory.
Syn. -- Artisan; artist. See Artisan.
New American Oxford Dictionary
artificer
ar tif i cer |ärˈtifəsər ɑrˈtɪfəsər | ▶noun archaic a skilled craftsman or inventor. • Brit. Military a skilled mechanic in the armed forces. ORIGIN late Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French, probably an alteration of Old French artificien, from artifice (see artifice ).
Oxford Dictionary
artificer
artificer |ɑːˈtɪfɪsə | ▶noun 1 a skilled mechanic in the armed forces. 2 archaic a skilled craftsman or inventor. ORIGIN late Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French, probably an alteration of Old French artificien, from artifice (see artifice ).
The Wordsmith Dictionary