cunning [ME] If you described someone as cunning in the Middle Ages you meant they were skilful or learned—there was no implication of slyness or deceit. The word probably comes from Old Norse kunnandi ‘knowledge’, from kunna ‘to know’, which is related to the verb can [OE]. Witches and wizards used to be known as ‘cunning women’ and ‘cunning men’, from an old sense of the word ‘possessing magical knowledge or skill’.