Queyntrelle

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A piece of clever deception or sly contrivance, meant to outwit or mislead someone through skill rather than force
2. Cunning craft used to trick or get the better of another person by subtle and artful means
3. An artful stratagem or wily device employed to deceive, the kind of ingenious ruse a crafty schemer might devise

Etymology: In Middle English, "queyntrelle" meant a clever trick, a stratagem, or an ingenious contrivance. It belongs to a family of words built on "queynte," meaning skilful or cunning, which itself came through Old French from the Latin "cognitus," "known" or "learned." The same root gave us "quaint," which once praised cleverness and craft before drifting to mean odd or old-fashioned. Its use is recorded in late medieval writing, and the term faded from ordinary English well before the modern period. Its recent revival in some circles is a separate development and is not part of its documented early history.