DECE'IT, 1. Literally, a catching or ensnaring. Hence, the misleading of a person; the leading of another person to believe what is false, or not to believe what is true, and thus to ensnare him; fraud; fallacy; cheat; any declaration, artifice or practice, which misleads another, or causes him to believe what is false. My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit Job 27:4. 2. Stratagem; artifice; device intended to mislead. They imagine deceits all the day long. Psalms 38:12. 3. In scripture, that which is obtained by guile, fraud or oppression. Their houses are full of deceit Jeremiah 5:27. Zeph. I. 4. In law, any trick, device, craft, collusion, shift, covin, or underhand practice, used to defraud another.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI