Dear Ranulph,

Your brief, Delphic note to the list requires clarification.

You wrote, “Art, of course, means cunning. So does design. QED
(whatever it was that had to be demonstrated, that is).”

This is not quite so. I know you love to provoke debate – so I’ll
add a few points to this.

The use of the word “art” as meaning “cunning” is deceptive.
Art more commonly meant “cunning” when the term “cunning” was
related to skill, craft, and knowledge and to the old Anglo-Saxon and
Anglo-Norse terms ken, kenning, and the like, words that relate to the
word knowledge and know today, with an added sense of ability or
practical wisdom, such as the Greek term phronesis or the Hebrew
chokmah. Today’s use of the term cunning implies the sly, tricky, or
crafty. The older use of the term could have that meaning, much as the
term artful may do, but it is not correct to say that “art means
cunning,” and it does not follow “of course.”

While the term design may also be used to imply cunning, this is rare.

Design is a process. Merriam-Webster’s defines design as: “1 a : to
conceive and plan out in the mind <he ~ed a perfect crime> b : to have
as a purpose : intend <he ~ed to excel in his studies> c : to devise for
a specific function or end <a book ~ed primarily as a college textbook>
2 archaic : to indicate with a distinctive mark, sign or name 3 a :
to make a drawing, pattern or sketch of b : to draw the plans for c : to
create, fashion, execute or construct according to plan : devise,
contrive…”

To sort these issues out requires serious exegesis and analysis. By
this I mean exegetics in the classical sense of the term, and not as
some use it today to mean an essay about the artifact in a
practice-based PhD submission.

While I will have to beg off on writing an analysis, I am happy to
provide the evidence of usage and meaning on which lexicographers base
their definitions of these words. Since most of us have access to the
Oxford English Dictionary online through our university libraries,
people can check this for themselves – and see the exemplars drawn
over centuries of usage.

These appear below the sig.

On my reading, neither art nor design “means” cunning, and these
two words do not mean the same as each other. With the use of the
“QED,” you’ve suggested a syllogism or a logical proposition
that does not exist.

There is a huge gap between the terms in your statement and a massive
chasm between the implicit and provocative identities in your QED.

If this note and the appendices seem too scholarly for such a minor
point, I apologize. A provocation with the implicit scholarship of your
statement calls for a response. The evidence below demonstrates the
contrary argument to your proposition.

Yours,

Ken

Ken Friedman, PhD, DSc (hc), FDRS
Professor
Dean

Swinburne Design
Swinburne University of Technology
Melbourne, Australia

--

Art:

From Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary:

Main Entry: 2art Pronunciation: ärt Function: noun Etymology: Middle
English, from Anglo-French, from Latin art-, ars -- more at Date: 13th
century 1 : skill acquired by experience, study, or observation <the art
of making friends> 2 a : a branch of learning: (1) : one of the
humanities (2) plural : b archaic : , 3 : an occupation requiring
knowledge or skill <the art of organ building>4 a : the conscious use of
skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic
objects; also : works so produced b (1) : (2) : one of the fine arts
(3) : a graphic art 5 a archaic : a skillful plan b : the quality or
state of being artful6 : decorative or illustrative elements in printed
matter synonyms , , , , mean the faculty of executing well what one has
devised. implies a personal, unanalyzable creative power <the art of
choosing the right word>. stresses technical knowledge and proficiency
<the skill of a glassblower>. suggests ingenuity and subtlety in
devising, inventing, or executing <a mystery plotted with great
cunning>. suggests technical skill especially in imitating things
in nature <believed realism in film could be achieved only by artifice>.
 may imply expertness in workmanship <the craft of a master goldsmith>.


From the Oxford English Dictionary:

[< Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French art (French art) means,
method, or knowledge employed to gain a certain result, technique
(c1000), manner of acting or behaving (c1100), skill (12th cent.
in Anglo-Norman), craftsmanship (12th cent. in Anglo-Norman), magic art,
magic, sorcery (12th cent. in Anglo-Norman), ruse, artifice (12th
cent.), trade, craft, profession (c1200), habit (13th cent. or earlier
in Anglo-Norman), knowledge, science, learning (13th cent. or earlier in
Anglo-Norman), deceit, guile (13th cent. or earlier in Anglo-Norman),
talent, ability (for gaining a particular result) (14th cent.), practice
(a1383 or earlier in Anglo-Norman), academic discipline (early 15th
cent.), treatise which sets out the principles of a discipline (15th
cent.), artistry or technique, as opposed to science (15th cent.), that
which is the product of human activity, as opposed to nature (1580), (in
plural) the liberal arts (late 14th cent. or earlier; 12th cent. in les
set arz the seven arts), the liberal and mechanical arts (a1628), the
humanities and philosophy (1636) < classical Latin arti-, ars
professional, artistic, or technical skill, craftsmanship, artificial
methods, human ingenuity, artificiality, crafty action, trick,
stratagem, craftiness, guile, personal characteristic or quality,
systematic body of knowledge and practical techniques, magic, one of the
fine or liberal arts, profession, craft, trade, task, pursuit, artistic
achievement or performance, artistic design or representation, work of
art, device, contrivance, rules or principles of an art, treatise,
method, system, procedure, principle of classification, in
post-classical Latin also guild (from 1380 in British sources) < the
same Indo-European base as ancient Greek to fit together + the
Indo-European base of classical Latin -ti-, suffix forming nouns (see
suffix1). Compare Old Occitan art (11th cent.), Catalan art (12th
cent.), Spanish arte (12th cent.; also art), Portuguese arte (13th
cent.), Italian arte (a1294). Occasional use of the form ars as a
singular in Middle English probably shows generalization of the plural
form ars (itself after French). In sense 3c probably after Italian arte
(14th cent. in this spec. sense). With Phrases 1 compare post-classical
Latin ars nec pars (13th cent. in British sources). Art originally
shared many of its meanings with craft (see n. II.); however, by the
17th cent. the association of art with creative or imaginative skill
(see sense 7) rather than technical ability tended to result in less
semantic overlap between the two words. Especially in sense 3a art is
often contrasted with science (see note at n. 3b), with art now
frequently understood (again perhaps reinforced by sense 7) as an
ability to adopt a creative or flexible approach, in contrast to the
application of more theoretical or scientific principles. From the
Middle Ages art has often been contrasted with nature (see sense 12).
Compare also the historical sense development of adj., adj., n.] I.
Skill; its display, application, or expression. 1. Skill in doing
something, esp. as the result of knowledge or practice. 2. Skill in the
practical application of the principles of a particular field of
knowledge or learning; technical skill. Obs. 3. As a count noun. a. A
practical application of knowledge; (hence) something which can be
achieved or understood by the employment of skill and knowledge; (in
early use also) a body or system of rules serving to facilitate the
carrying out of certain principles. b. A practical pursuit or trade of a
skilled nature, a craft; an activity that can be achieved or mastered by
the application of specialist skills; (also) any one of the useful arts
(see sense 4b). Cf. art and mystery n. at n.2 2c. c. A company of
craftsmen; a guild. Cf. n.2 3. Now hist. (freq. with reference to
Italy). 4. With modifying word or words denoting skill in a particular
craft, profession, or other sphere of activity. a. With a genitive or
genitive phrase, as ‘the writer’s art’, ‘the art of
government’. the art of love n. [frequently with reference to Latin
Ars Amatoria, the title of a work by Ovid; compare also Anglo-Norman art
d’amur (13th cent.)] the skill or technique of seduction and
lovemaking. 5. An acquired ability of any kind; a skill at doing a
specified thing, typically acquired through study and practice; a knack.
Freq. in the art of . 6. Skill in an activity regarded as governed by
aesthetic as well as organizational principles. Now rare. The range of
activities covered include the visual arts such as painting, drawing,
and sculpture, and also other creative arts such as music, literature,
dance, drama, and oratory. 7. As a count noun. Any of various pursuits
or occupations in which creative or imaginative skill is applied
according to aesthetic principles (formerly often defined in terms of
‘taste’ ( n.1 8)); (in pl. with the, sometimes personified) the
various branches of creative activity, as painting, sculpture, music,
literature, dance, drama, oratory, etc. Cf. arts of design at n. 8,
applied arts at adj. 3a, elegant arts n. at adj. 7, n. 1,
performing arts n. at n. Compounds. See also n. 8. a. The
expression or application of creative skill and imagination, typically
in a visual form such as painting, drawing, or sculpture, producing
works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.
Also: such works themselves considered collectively. Cf. a work of art
at n. 14. Although this is the most usual modern sense of art when used
without any qualification, it has not been found in English dictionaries
until the 19th cent. Before then, it seems to have been used chiefly by
painters and writers on painting. The unmodified mass noun it is
normally understood as referring to the visual arts; however, it may
sometimes to extended to include music, literature, dance, drama, etc.,
though the plural form arts (see sense 7) is frequently used to indicate
a broader range of creative activities. Various styles of art are
distinguished by descriptive nouns and adjectives identifying location,
function, medium, object, etc.: body, cave, clip-, computer, folk-,
high, op, performance art, etc.; modern, New, nouveau art, etc.
(see the first element); see also adj. 4d and adj. 3. b. The theory
and practice of the visual arts as a subject of study or examination;
(also) a class or lesson in art. II. Senses relating to learning or
study. 9. a. In pl. Certain branches of study, esp. at a university,
serving as a preparation for more advanced studies or for later life,
spec. (a) (in the Middle Ages) the seven subjects forming the trivium
(grammar, logic, and rhetoric) and the more advanced quadrivium
(arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy) (now hist.); (b) (in later
use) a broad range of subjects, varying according to time and place but
now generally taken as including languages, literature, philosophy,
history, and other areas of study concerned with the processes and
products of human culture and thought (cf. n. 2.). Also known as the
free or (now more commonly) liberal arts, from the idea that these
were the subjects of study considered worthy of a free man (see adj. 2,
and cf. adj. 1b). Freq. in the names of degrees (as Bachelor and Master
of Arts) awarded to those who attain a prescribed standard of
proficiency (although by convention, many universities award such
degrees to graduates in subjects not traditionally regarded as belonging
to the ‘arts’ faculties). b. In sing. Any of these subjects of study
individually, esp. one of those forming the trivium and quadrivium (now
hist.). 10. a. The seven subjects of the trivium and quadrivium
considered collectively; the liberal arts. Obs. b. gen. Scholarship,
learning. Obs. (arch. in later use). c. term of art n. (also word of art
(now rare)) a word or phrase used in a precise sense in a particular
subject or field; a technical term. Freq. in pl. III. Crafty or cunning
conduct; human or artificial agency. 11. a. Cunning; artfulness;
trickery, pretence; conduct or action which seeks to attain its ends by
artificial, indirect, or covert means. b. A stratagem, wile, or cunning
device; a contrivance. Chiefly in pl. 12. a. Human workmanship or
agency; human skill as an agent. Opposed to nature (or, in early use,
kind). Obs.

--

Design:

From Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary:

Design

Def design: de·sign verb Etymology: Middle English, to outline,
indicate, mean, from Middle French & Medieval Latin; Middle French
designer to designate, from Medieval Latin designare, from Latin, to
mark out, from de- + signare to mark -- more at SIGN Date: 14th century
transitive senses 1 : to create, fashion, execute, or construct
according to plan : DEVISE, CONTRIVE 2 a : to conceive and plan out in
the mind <he designed the perfect crime> b : to have as a purpose :
INTEND <she designed to excel in her studies> c : to devise for a
specific function or end <a book designed primarily as a college
textbook> 3 archaic : to indicate with a distinctive mark, sign, or name
4 a : to make a drawing, pattern, or sketch of b : to draw the plans for
intransitive senses 1 : to conceive or execute a plan 2 : to draw, lay
out, or prepare a design - de·sign·ed·ly /-’zI-n&d-lE/ adverb

design noun Date: 1588 1 a : a particular purpose held in view by an
individual or group <he has ambitious designs for his son> b :
deliberate purposive planning <more by accident than design> 2 : a
mental project or scheme in which means to an end are laid down 3 a : a
deliberate undercover project or scheme : PLOT b plural : aggressive or
evil intent -- used with on or against <he has designs on the money> 4 :
a preliminary sketch or outline showing the main features of something
to be executed : DELINEATION 5 a : an underlying scheme that governs
functioning, developing, or unfolding : PATTERN, MOTIF <the general
design of the epic> b : a plan or protocol for carrying out or
accomplishing something (as a scientific experiment); also : the process
of preparing this 6 : the arrangement of elements or details in a
product or work of art 7 : a decorative pattern 8 : the creative art of
executing aesthetic or functional designs synonym see INTENTION, PLAN.

--

From the Oxford English Dictionary:

Verb:

[a. F. désigner (16th c. in Rabelais, in 14th c. desinner Godef.
Suppl.) ‘to denote, signifie, or shew by a marke or token, to
designe, prescribe, appoint’ (Cotgr.), ad. L. dsignre, dissignre to
mark out, trace out, denote, , appoint, contrive, etc., f. I. 2 and +
signre to mark, signum mark, . Cf. Pr. designar, desegnar, Sp., Pg.
designar, It. disegnare (in 16th c. also dissegnare, designare,
Florio). In It. the vb. had in 16th c. the senses ‘to designe,
contriue, plot, purpose, intend; also to draw, paint, embroither, modle,
pourtray’ (Florio); thence obs. F. desseigner ‘to designe, purpose,
proiect, lay a plot’ (Cotgr.), and mod.F. dessiner, in 16th c.
designer, 17th c. dessigner, to design in the artistic sense. In
Eng., design combines all these senses.] I. [after L. dsignre, F.
désigner] To mark out, nominate, appoint, . 1. trans. To point out
by distinctive sign, mark, or token; to indicate. Also with forth, out.
Obs. 2. To point out by name or by descriptive phrase; in Law, to
specify (a person) by title, profession, trade, etc.; to designate,
name, style. Sometimes with double obj. (direct and complemental). arch.
3. Of names, signs, etc.: To signify, stand for. 4. To appoint to
office, function, or position; to designate, nominate. Const. as in 2.
Obs. 5. To appoint or assign (something to a person); to make over,
bestow, grant, give. Const. to or dat. Obs. exc. in Sc. Law. 6. Hence,
with mixture of II, and ultimately fusing with 10: To set apart in
thought for the use or advantage of some one; to intend to bestow or
give. Const. for, to, on. 7. To appoint, destine, devote (a thing or
person) to a fate or purpose. Now merged in 10. II. [allied to n. I,
obs. F. desseigner] To plan, purpose, intend. 8. To form a plan or
scheme of; to conceive and arrange in the mind; to originate mentally,
plan out, contrive. 9. In weaker sense: To purpose, intend, mean.
Rarely, to be designed (obs.), like to be purposed, resolved,
determined, minded, etc. b. with inf. phr. c. with subord. clause
as obj. 10. With complement (a) inf. or n., (b) prep. phr.: To purpose
or intend (a thing) to be or do (something); to mean (a thing) to serve
some purpose or fulfil some plan. 11. intr. To have purposes or
intentions (of a specified kind). rare. 12. trans. To have in view,
contemplate. 13. intr. and quasi-pass. (usually with for): To intend to
go or start; to be bound for (a place). b. transf. To intend to start
upon a certain course; to mean to enter upon a pursuit. III. [allied to
n. II, It. disegnare, F. dessiner] To sketch, delineate, draw; to
fashion artistically. 14. trans. a. To make a sketch of (an object or
scene); to sketch, draw. Obs. b. To trace the outline of, delineate. (,
implying the vb. in this sense, is quoted of 1570.) c. To make the
preliminary sketch of (a work of art, a picture, statue, ornamental
fabric, etc.); to make the plans and drawings necessary for the
construction of (a building, ship, machine, etc.), which the workmen
have to follow out. 15. To plan and execute (a structure, work of art,
etc.); to fashion with artistic skill or decorative device; to furnish
or adorn with a design. 16. intr. a. To trace the outline of a figure or
form; to put a graphic representation on paper, canvas, etc.; to draw,
sketch. b. To form or fashion a work of art; in a narrower sense, to
form decorative figures, devise artistic patterns.

Noun:

[In 16th c. des(s)eigne, a. 15-16th c. F. desseing (in 16th c. also
dessing, desing) ‘designe, purpose, proiect, priuat intention or
determination’ (Cotgr.), f. desseigner to . In 16th c. It. disegno
(also dissegno, designo) had the senses ‘purpose, designe, draught;
model, plot, picture, pourtrait’ (Florio). Hence the artistic sense
was taken into Fr., and gradually differentiated in spelling, so that in
mod.F. dessein is ‘purpose, plan’, dessin ‘design in art’. Eng.
on the contrary uses design, conformed to the verb, in both senses.] I.
A mental plan. 1. a. A plan or scheme conceived in the mind and intended
for subsequent execution; the preliminary conception of an idea that is
to be carried into effect by action; a project. b. ‘A scheme formed to
the detriment of another’ (J.); a plan or purpose of attack upon or
on. 2. a. In weaker sense: Purpose, aim, intention. 3. The thing
aimed at; the end in view; the final purpose. 4. Contrivance in
accordance with a preconceived plan; adaptation of means to ends;
pre-arranged purpose; spec. used in reference to the view that the
universe manifests Divine forethought and testifies to an intelligent
Creator (the argument from design). 5. In a bad sense: Crafty
contrivance, hypocritical scheming; an instance of this. Cf. ppl. a. 2.
arch. II. A plan in art. 6. A preliminary sketch for a picture or other
work of art; the plan of a building or any part of it, or the outline of
a piece of decorative work, after which the actual structure or texture
is to be completed; a delineation, pattern. 7. a. The combination of
artistic details or architectural features which go to make up a
picture, statue, building, etc.; the artistic idea as executed; a piece
of decorative work, an artistic device. 8. The art of picturesque
delineation and construction; original work in a graphic or plastic art.
arts of design: those in which design plays a principal part, such as
painting, sculpture, architecture, engraving. school of design: a school
in which the arts of design are specially taught. 9. attrib. and Comb.,
as design book, consultant, engineer; design-conscious a. (see a. 12).

--

Def design: design Part of speech: transitive verb Syllables: de-sign
Pronunciation: dih zain Inflections: designed, designing, designs
Definition: 1. to make or draw plans for, esp. the structure or form of:
Synonyms: plan, engineer (1;2), map out {map (3)} Similar Words: plot1,
scheme, devise, block out {block}, frame, formulate, forge1, shape,
draft, outline, sketch, blueprint Example: He designed a new welfare
system. Definition: 2. to conceive; invent. Synonyms: invent (1),
conceive (1), dream up {dream (PHR)}, formulate (2) Similar Words:
contrive, create, innovate, originate, coin, hatch1, form. Definition:
3. to intend for a specific goal or purpose: Synonyms: earmark (1),
intend (2), target Similar Words: aim at {aim (vi)}, reserve Example: a
program designed to educate the public. Part of speech: intransitive
verb Definition: to create plans or designs. Synonyms: plan, devise,
contrive Similar Words: scheme Part of speech: noun Definition: 1. a
plan or outline showing how something is to be built or carried out.
Synonyms: plan (2;3), scheme (2, 3), blueprint (2), strategy (1), layout
(1), draft (2), program (1) Similar Words: schematic, map, sketch,
outline, diagram, agenda Definition: 2. an artistic rendering; drawing.
Synonyms: drawing (1), picture (1) Similar Words: portrayal, painting,
sketch Definition: 3. pattern: Synonyms: pattern (1;2) Similar Words:
print, motif, shape, figure, detail, decoration Example: a floral
design. Definition: 4. the art of creating drawings: Similar Words: art,
drawing, painting, graphics, graphic arts Example: He is studying
design. Definition: 5. end; purpose. Synonyms: goal (1), purpose (1),
aim (2), intention (2), objective (1), purport (2) Similar Words: end,
reason, hope, dream, wish, ambition, aspiration, destination, target,
mark1, desire Definition: 6. (often pl.) scheme or plot. Synonyms: plan
(1), intentions (4), scheme (1), plot1 (2) Similar Words: cabal
(Wordsmyth 1999: unpaged).

--

From the 1913 edition of Webster’s at ARTFL:

Def design Design (Page: 397) De*sign” (?; 277), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
Designed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Designing.] [F. désigner to designate, cf.
F. dessiner to draw, dessin drawing, dessein a plan or scheme; all,
ultimately, from L. designare to designate; de- + signare to mark, mark
out, signum mark, sign. See Sign, and cf. Design, n., Designate.] 1. To
draw preliminary outline or main features of; to sketch for a pattern or
model; to delineate; to trace out; to draw. Dryden. 2. To mark out and
exhibit; to designate; to indicate; to show; to point out; to appoint.
We shall see Justice design the victor’s chivalry. Shak. Meet me
to-morrow where the master And this fraternity shall design. Beau. & Fl.
3. To create or produce, as a work of art; to form a plan or scheme of;
to form in idea; to invent; to project; to lay out in the mind; as, a
man designs an essay, a poem, a statue, or a cathedral. 4. To intend or
purpose; -- usually with for before the remote object, but sometimes
with to. Ask of politicians the end for which laws were originally
designed. Burke. He was designed to the study of the law. Dryden. Syn.
-- To sketch; plan; purpose; intend; propose; project; mean. Design
(Page: 397) De*sign”, v. i. To form a design or designs; to plan.
Design for, to intend to go to. [Obs.] From this city she designed for
Collin [Cologne].” Evelyn. [398] Design (Page: 398) De*sign” (?), n.
[Cf. dessein, dessin.] 1. A preliminary sketch; an outline or pattern of
the main features of something to be executed, as of a picture, a
building, or a decoration; a delineation; a plan. 2. A plan or scheme
formed in the mind of something to be done; preliminary conception; idea
intended to be expressed in a visible form or carried into action;
intention; purpose; -- often used in a bad sense for evil intention or
purpose; scheme; plot. The vast design and purpos of the King. Tennyson.
The leaders of that assembly who withstood the designs of a besotted
woman. Hallam. A . . . settled design upon another man’s life. Locke.
How little he could guess the secret designs of the court! Macaulay. 3.
Specifically, intention or purpose as revealed or inferred from the
adaptation of means to an end; as, the argument from design. 4. The
realization of an inventive or decorative plan; esp., a work of
decorative art considered as a new creation; conception or plan shown in
completed work; as, this carved panel is a fine design, or of a fine
design. 5. (Mus.) The invention and conduct of the subject; the
disposition of every part, and the general order of the whole. Arts of
design, those into which the designing of artistic forms and figures
enters as a principal part, as architecture, painting, engraving,
sculpture. -- School of design, one in which are taught the invention
and delineation of artistic or decorative figures, patterns, and the
like. Syn. -- Intention; purpose; scheme; project; plan; idea. --
Design, Intention, Purpose. Design has reference to something definitely
aimed at. Intention points to the feelings or desires with which a thing
is sought. Purpose has reference to a settled choice or determination
for its attainment. I had no design to injure you, “ means it was no
part of my aim or object. I had no intention to injure you, “ means, I
had no wish or desire of that kind. My purpose was directly the reverse,
“ makes the case still stronger. Is he a prudent man . . . that lays
designs only for a day, without any prospect to the remaining part of
his life? Tillotson. I wish others the same intention, and greater
successes. Sir W. Temple. It is the purpose that makes strong the vow.
Shak. (ARTFL Webster’s 1913: 397-8)

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From Encarta:

def design. de·sign [di zn ] verb (past de·signed, past participle
de·signed, present participle de·sign·ing, 3rd person present
singular de·signs) 1.transitive and intransitive verb create detailed
plan of something:to work out or create the form or structure of
something 2.transitive and intransitive verb plan and make something:to
plan and make something in a skillful or artistic way 3.transitive
verbintend for a use:to intend something for a particular purpose The
scholarship was designed to aid foreign students. 4.transitive verb
invent:to contrive, devise, or plan something noun (plural de·signs)
1.way something is made:the way in which something is planned and made
2.picture of something’s form and structure:a drawing or other
graphical representation of something that shows how it is to be made 3.
decorative pattern:a pattern or shape, sometimes repeated, used for
decoration 4.process of designing:the process and techniques of
designing things 5.scheme:a plan or scheme for something 6.something
planned:something that is planned or intended plural noun de·signs
selfish or dishonest plan:a secretive plan undertaken for selfish or
dishonest motivesThey had designs on her job. [14th century. From,
ultimately, Latin designare (see designate ).] de·sign·a·ble adjective
by design intentionally or on purpose.