# chicanery

> English word · Noun · IPA /ʃɪˈkeɪn(ə)ɹi/ · frequency rank #71,396

## Definitions
1. Deception by the use of trickery, quibbling, or subterfuge.
2. An individual act of trickery or deception.
3. The quality of being inclined to trickery or deceitfulness.

## Etymology
From French chicanerie (“trickery”), from chicaner, from Middle French chicaner, borrowed from Middle Low German schicken, from Old Saxon *skikkian, from Proto-West Germanic *skikkijan, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *skikkijaną (“to order, arrange”).
Related to German schicken (“to send, ship”), Middle English skekken (“to send forth, issue”).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/chicanery