cuniculus 
u i.i M. 1 to ii i IH-IICS lonii. tin- tail, w ill) its pencil df linn's. 
1 illrll ; ill Mlimnel- tile pelage ii (la|.|iled with chr-tnnt 
red. lila.'k, L-T;i> , .11 n I \< [l..\\ i,-ll ; in u inter it j purr nil II.' 
Tile nclllls was founded h.v Wayk-r in l-:i". 
3. Ill nii'l., ;i IIIIITOW i)t';in itch-insect in I lie skill. 
cuniforni (ku'ni-f6nn), n. An improper fonn 
of ciiiii'il'iirni. 
Cunila (ku-m'lii), n. [L. cumin, i-nmln. a plant, 
a species of Origanum.'} A labiate genus of the 
eastern 1'iiitcd Stall's, of a single species, C. 
Miiriitnn. distinguished by the very hairy throat 
of the calyx, the small bilabiate corolla with 
spreading lobes, two divergent stamens, and 
smooth nutlets. It is a gently stimulant aro- 
matic. It is commonly known as ilittani/. 
CUllingart, " Same as eouygi-r. 
cunn (kun), //. A local Irish name of the pollan, 
I'orrgilHIIX /Illl/llll. 
cunne't, r. An obsolete form of can 1 . 
cunne-t, r. t. An obsolete form of coift. 
dinner (ktiu'er), . [Also <</: see Conner 3 ."] 
The l>lue-]ierch. ( 'fi-iinlahriix ailxpcrxun. It attains 
a It-iinih .1. .met ime, of 12 inches; it lias about 18 dorsal 
Gunner (Ctenotabrtts adspersus). 
spines, conical teeth in several rows, serrate preopercu- 
liini, and scaly cheeks and opercles. It is found most 
abundantly about rocks in salt water. Also called her- 
null, chogeet, nipper, sea-perch, etc. [New England.] 
It was one of the days when, in spite of twitching the 
line and using all the tricks we could think of, the ctm- 
uern would either eat our bait or keep away altogether. 
ST. O. Jewett, Deephaven, p. 151. 
cunniet (kun'i), n. An obsolete spelling of cony. 
cunniegreat, Same as conyger. 
cunning 1 (kuu'ing), n. [< ME. cunning, cun- 
nyng, foninjng, kunnyng, coning, conyng, etc., in 
form and use the verbal noun (not found in 
AS.) of cunnen, pres. ind. can, know (cf. Icel. 
kunminiU, knowledge, < Jcunna, know), but in 
form and partly in sense as if < AS. cunnung, 
trial, test, < cunnian, try, test, > E. cH 2 , coift. 
Cunningi, while thus the verbal noun, associ- 
ated with cunning^, the ppr., of can, know, also 
includes historically the verbal noun of ci 2 , 
<wi 2 , which is now separated, as conning, in 
mod. sense, the act of studying.] If. Know- 
ledge ; learning ; special knowledge : sometimes 
implying occult or magical knowledge. 
A tree of kunni/iuj of good '"1 ynel. \Fyd(f,Oeu. il. I). 
That alle the folke that ys alyve 
Ne han the kitnnifngv t discryve 
The thinges that I herde tliere. 
Chaucer, House of Fame, 1. 2050. 
1 helieve that ail these three persons in the Godhead] 
are even in power, an.! in cunning, and in might, full of 
grace and of all goodness. 
Thrope, Confession, in Foxe's Hook of Martyrs. 
2. Practical knowledge or experience; skill; 
dexterity. 
If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget 
her cunning. Ps. cxxxvii. 5. 
3. Practical skill employed in a secret or crafty 
manner ; craft ; artifice ; skilful deceit. 
The continual habit of dissimulation is but a weak and 
sluggish cunning, and not greatly politic. 
lliii'iiii. Advancement of Learning, ii. 343. 
Nor did I use an engine to entrap 
His life, out of a slavish fear to combat 
Youth, strength, or run, 
Ford, The Broken Heart, v. 3. 
Tills is a trap, isn't it? a nice stroke of tunning, hey? 
Xtifriiliiii. The Duenna, II. 1. 
4. Disposition to employ one's skill in an art- 
ful manner; craftiness; guile; artifice. 
\Ve take.-,., inni.i f,, r a sinister and crooked wisdom : and 
certainly there is great diffefODM I'etweeu a cunning man 
and a wise man, not only in point of honesty, but in point 
of ability. Bacon, Cunning. 
5. The natural wit or instincts of an animal: 
as, the cunning of the fox or hare. =syn. 3 and 4. 
i rail, craftiness, shrewdness, subtlety, finesse, duplicity, 
illtri_'ln . -Ililr. 
cunning 1 (knn'ing), a. [< ME. cunning, cun- 
iii/iin, fitnnyng. fnnyng, knnning, konnyng, konyiig. 
etc.. also in curlier (North.) form cunnand (af- 
ter Icel., no AS. form "cunnainle being found) 
(= Mllli. l:iiiini-nil. kiiiini-nt, (I. l.iiiiiii-inl (as adj. 
chiefly dial.) = Icel. knunanili, knowing, learn- 
ing. ctinniiiK): prop. ppr. of AS. cuiinan, ME. 
i-unitfii (= OIKi. kiiiiititii, MHU. kiiHiirn, kiiniicn. 
i. kiinnen = led. kunna), pres. ind. i'<ni, 
know, mod. E. can, be able: see <v/i. Cnti- 
niitgi, "-. is thus the orig. ppr. of <vi' (obs. 
forms rim, i-iin) in its orig. sense 'know.' Cf. 
running^, .] If. Knowing; having knowledge; 
learned; having or concerned with special <>r 
strange knowledge, and hence sometimes with 
an implication of magical or supernatural 
knowledge. See cunning-man, cunniiig-ironinii. 
He wil . . . that they tie <-nnnnn:t in his serniss. 
M'-lr. llinnilii'i. p. '.. 
Though I l- nought all r// 
Upon the forme of this writing. 
Qower, Conf. Amant., III. 88. 
he did impart, 
Upon a certain day, 
To him her cunning magic art. 
The.SevenChaiiii>ioiuofChristtHdoin(l1Mi\'s}M\mli,l.iK,). 
2. Having knowledge acquired by experience 
or practice; having technical knowledge and 
manual skill ; skilful ; dexterous. [Now chiefly 
literary and somewhat archaic.] 
Esau was a runni'm/ hunter. (Jen. xxv. 27. 
Aholiab, ... an engraver, and a cunning workman, and 
an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, anu in scarlet, and 
fine linen. 
Ex. xxxviii. 28. 
We do not wonder at man because he Is cunning in pro- 
curing food, but we are amazed with the variety, the su- 
perfluity, the immensity of human talents. 
Sydney Smith, in Lady Holland, iii. 
3. Exhibiting or wrought with ingenuity; skil- 
ful; curious; ingenious. 
Apollo was god of shooting, and Author of cunning play- 
ing vpon Instrumentes. Aicham, The Scholemastcr, p. 64. 
All the more do I admire 
Joints of i- a, i in nit workmanship. 
TennifKon, Vision of Sin, iv. 
4. Characterized by or exercising crafty inge- 
nuity; artfully subtle or shrewd; knowing in 
guile; guileful; tricky. 
Oh you're a cunning boy, and taught to lie 
For yonr lord's credit ! 
Beau, and Fl., Philaster, ii. S. 
Hinder them [children], as much as may be, from being 
cunning; ; which, being the ape of wisdom, is the most dis- 
tant from it that can be. Locke, Education, 140. 
5. Marked by crafty ingenuity; showing shrewd- 
ness or guile; expressive of subtlety : as, a cun- 
ning deception; cunning looks. 
Accounting his integrity to be but a cunning face of 
falsehood. Sir I'. Sidney. 
O'er his face there spread a cunning grin. 
William Murri*, Earthly Paradise, II. 316. 
6. Curiously or quaintly attractive ; subtly in- 
teresting; piquant: commonly used of some- 
thing small or young: as, the cunning ways of 
a child or a pet animal. [U. S.] 
As a child she had been called cunning, in the popular 
American use of the word when applied to children ; that 
is to say, piquantly interesting. 
E. Eggleston, The Graysous, i. 
= Syn. 4. Cunning, Artful, Sly, Subtle, Shreu-d, Tricky, 
Adroit, Wily, Crafty, Intriguing, sharp, foxy. All these 
words suggest something underhand or deceptive. Cun- 
ning/, literally knowing, and especially knowing how, now 
implies a disposition to compass one's ends by concealment; 
hence we speak of a fox-like cunning. Artful Indicates 
greater Ingenuity and ability, the latter, however, being 
of a low kind. Sly is the same as </,/.,,,//. except that it 
is more vulgar and implies less ability. (" A col-fox, fill 
of sleigh iniquite." Chaucer, Nun's Priest's Tale, 1. 395.) 
(" Envy works in a sly, imperceptible manner." Watt*.) 
Subtle implies concealment, like cunning/, but also a mark- 
ed ability and the power to work out one's plans without 
being suspected ; hence, while cunning is applicable to 
brutes, mbtle is too high a word for that, except by figu- 
rative use. The rabbit is cunning enough to hide from the 
dog ; Mephistopheles is mbtle. (For the favorable mean- 
ings of subtle, see astute. For the good senses of shreird, 
see acute.) In its unfavorable aspects shretnl implies 
a penetration and judgment that are somewhat narrow 
and worldly-wise, too much so to deserve the name of 
sagacity or wisdom. (See astute.) Tricky is especially a 
word of action ; it expresses the character and conduct of 
one who gets the confidence of others only to abuse it by 
acts of selfishness, especially cheating. Adroit, in a had 
sense, expresses a ready and skilful use of trickery, or fa- 
cility in performing and escaping detection of reprehen- 
sible acts. (See adroit.) Wily is appropriate where a per- 
son is viewed as an opponent in real or figurative war- 
fare, against whom wiles or stratagems are employed : a 
mlu adversary is one who is full of snch devices ; i 
politician is one who is notably given to advancing party 
interests by leading the opposite side to commit blun- 
ders, etc. A crafty man has less ability than a subtle 
man, and works more by deception or knavery than the 
Ar, ,/-,/ man; he is more active than the cunning man, 
and more steadily active than the *ly man ; he is on the 
moral level of the trickiith man. Intriguing is applied 
where the plots are secret arrangements made with 
others, perhaps against a third party, and especially of a 
complicated character. 
cunning 2 (kun'ing). . [< ME. connyng, coning, 
cniiyng. var. of i-nnii. fmiig, etc., whence mod. E. 
cony, cnni'u. q. v. The fonn funning remains in 
mod. use only as applied to the lamprey, and 
in the proper names Cunning/nun, ' " 
cnp 
i, etc. See '"".'/] It- A variant of 
I-IIHI/. 2. The river-lamprey. [Local, Eng.] 
cunningairet, . Same as <<///</(. 
Cunninghaniia (kun-ing-ham'i-ii), n. [In honor 
of I 'iiniiiiigliiim, an Kntclish explorer iiiAiistra 
lia.] A genus of coniferous trees of < 'hina and 
Japan, of two species, resembling in their stiff, 
pungent, linear-lanceolate leaves the Arauca- 
fi'i. but more nearly allied to the Kcquoia of 
California. The wood of the Chinese species, 
' . xineiuris, is used especially for tea-chests and 
coffins. 
cunningheadt, . [MK. connynglifde ; < cun- 
mngl, a., + -lieail.] Cunning; knowledge; un- 
derstanding. 
Barayne is my soul, fauting Hacking) connynghide. 
Kum. <tf I'artenay (E. E. T. S.), Int., 1. 5. 
cunningly (kun'ing-li), arfr. 1. Skilfully; clev- 
erly; artistically. 
A stately Pallace built of squared hricke, 
Which cunningly was without morter laid. 
Spenur, f. Q., I. iv. 4. 
And there is the best armour made in all the East, of 
Iron and steele, cunningly tempered with the Juice of cer- 
talne herbes. Purcha*, Pilgrimage, p. 386. 
We have a privilege of nature to shiver before a painted 
flame, how cunningly soever the colors be laid on. 
l.iiii'i-ll, Among my Boolu, 1st sen, p. 369. 
2f. Shrewdly; wisely. 
Where euer this barne has l>ene 
That carpys thus txmandly. York Plays, p. 162. 
3. Artfully ; craftily ; with subtlety ; with 
fraudulent contrivance. 
We have not followed cunningly devised fables. 
2 Pet. i. 10. 
4. Prettily; attractively; piquantly. [U. S.] 
CUnning-mant (kun'ing-man), n. A man who 
is reputed or pretends to have special or oc- 
cult knowledge or skill ; especially, one who 
pretends to tell fortunes, or teach how to re- 
cover stolen or lost goods. 
Do ye not think me a cunning Man, that of an old 
Bishop can make a young Earl ? Baker, Chronicles, p. 82. 
The cunning- men in Cow-lane . . . have told her her 
fortune. B. Junmn, Bartholomew Fair, i. 1. 
The lady . . . paid me much above the usual fee, as a 
cunning-man, to find her stolen goods. 
Steele, Taller, No. 245. 
cunningness (kun'ing-ncs), . The character 
of being cunning. 
cunning-womant (kun'ing-wum'an), H. A fe- 
male fortune-teller. See cunning-man. 
Dancer. I am buying of an office, sir, and to that pur- 
pose I would fain learn to dissemble cunningly. 
Fur. Do you come to me for that ? you should rather 
have gone to a cunning uiitnan. 
Fletcher (and another), Fair Maid of the Inn, iv. 2. 
And then her going in disguise to that conjurer, and 
this funning woman .' B. Jomton, Epiccene, ii. 1. 
cunnyt, . See cony. 
cunnycatcht, cunnycatchert, etc. See cony- 
cat clt, etc. 
Cunonia (kii-no'ni-a), n. [NL., named in honor 
of .1. C. ('uno, a German botanist of the 18th 
century.] A small genus of plants, natural 
Cll>ll>Hltl C.lffHJt'S. 
order Saxifragacece. one species is found in South 
Africa, and there are five in New Caledonia. They are small 
trees or shrubs, with compound leaves and dense racemes 
of small white flowers. The bark is used for tanning. 
cuntakt, . See conteck. 
cunt-line (kunt'lin or -lin), n. Same as nnit-lini: 
cuntryet, cuntret, . Obsolete forms of country. 
Cuon (kii'on), H. A less proper form of Cyoift. 
cup (kup), w. [< ME. cup, cuppe, also coppe, 
< AS. cupae (not * cuppa), ONorth. copp, a cup, 
cope, coupe, F. cmtpe (> ME. also coupe, cowpe : 
