artificer Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun someone who is the first to think of or make something
    discoverer; inventor.
  2. noun a skilled worker who practices some trade or handicraft
    journeyman; artisan; craftsman.
  3. noun an enlisted man responsible for the upkeep of small arms and machine guns etc.
    armourer; armorer.

WordNet

Ar*tif"i*cer noun
Etymology
Cf. F. artificier, fr. LL. artificiarius.
Definitions
  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.) 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.

Webster 1913