The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Artificer \Ar*tif"i*cer\, n. [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.
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   2. One who makes or contrives; a deviser, inventor, or
      framer. "Artificer of fraud." --Milton.
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            The great Artificer of all that moves. --Cowper.
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   3. A cunning or artful fellow. [Obs.] --B. Jonson.
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   4. (Mil.) A military mechanic, as a blacksmith, carpenter,
      etc.; also, one who prepares the shells, fuses, grenades,
      etc., in a military laboratory.
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   Syn: Artisan; artist. See Artisan.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

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

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary:

Artificer
   a person engaged in any kind of manual occupation (Gen. 4:22;
   Isa. 3:3).


Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

ARTIFICERS. Persons whose employment or business consists chiefly of bodily
labor. Those who are masters of their arts. Cunn. Dict. h.t. Vide Art.