Stratagem STRATAGEM, n. [L., Gr., to lead an army.] 1. An artifice,
particularly in war; a plan or scheme for deceiving an enemy. 2. An
artifice; a trick by which some advantage is intended to be obtained.
Those oft are stratagems which errors seem.
stratagem
n 1: a maneuver in a game or conversation [syn: ploy,
gambit, stratagem]
2: an elaborate or deceitful scheme contrived to deceive or
evade; "his testimony was just a contrivance to throw us off
the track" [syn: contrivance, stratagem, dodge]
stratagem nounEtymology: Italian stratagemma, from Latin strategema,
from Greek stratēgēma, from stratēgein to be a general,
maneuver, from stratēgos general, from stratos camp, army
(akin to Latin stratus, past participle, spread out) + agein
to lead — more at stratum, agentDate: 15th century 1.a. an artifice or trick in war for deceiving and outwitting the
enemy b. a cleverly contrived trick or scheme for gaining an end
2. skill in ruses or trickery Synonyms:seetrick
stratagem n. 1 a cunning plan or scheme, esp. for deceiving an enemy. 2 trickery. Etymology: ME f. F stratagème f. L stratagema f. Gk strategema f. strategeo be a general
(strategos) f. stratos army + ago lead
stratagem
(stratagems)
A stratagem is a plan that is intended to achieve a particular effect, often by
deceiving people. (FORMAL)
Trade discounts may be used as a competitive stratagem to secure customer loyalty.= ploy
N-COUNT
stratagem
ˈstrætɪdʒəm n. 1 a cunning plan or scheme, esp. for deceiving
an enemy. 2 trickery. [ME f. F stratagëme f. L stratagema f. Gk strategema
f. strategeo be a general (strategos) f. stratos army + ago lead]
Stratagem \Strat"a*gem\, n. [F. stratag[`e]me (cf. Sp.
estratagema, It. stratagemma), L. strategema, Gr. ?, fr. ? to
be leader of an army, fr. ? a general; ? an army (probably as
being spread out; cf. Stratum) + ? to lead. See Agent.]
An artifice or trick in war for deceiving the enemy; hence,
in general, artifice; deceptive device; secret plot; evil
machination.
Fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils. --Shak.
Those oft are stratagems which error seem, Nor is it
Homer nods, but we that dream. --Pope.
stratagem
ˈstrætɪdʒəm n. trick, artifice, device, dodge, subterfuge, lure, wile, ruse, plan,
scheme, plot, intrigue, manoeuvre, ploy, tactic: What stratagem did they use to tempt you to
attend this boring affair?
On most web browsers you can double click any word on this page to see what definitions I have for that word.
This dictionary server is not an authoratative source of information for anything. Like almost everything at sorabji.com, I set this up for my own purposes. In this case the purpose is to
browse words and ideas at random. An automatically generated page that produces 1000 Random Words
is my gateway to this resource. I also attempt a word of the day project,
in which I attempt to write something about myself starting with interesting words that I find through the Wordswarm Random Words Pages. I have made
available the complete 1828 Webster's Dictionary, which many feel is the greatest English dictionary ever published.
Other random links of mine include the Sorabji.com Random Link, which sends you to one of
over 7,000 pages on my web sites; the Face Server produces random images of
human faces; clicking the Random WAYD link shows you a random posting to my "What Are You Doing?" board; the Random USPS
Mailbox link sends you to a page with information about a random mailbox; and the random pictures page page of sorabji.com shows one of over 11,000 random images any time you load the page. On an unrelated note, I have begun making several thousand pages of legal documents searchable.