Ploy
/plɔɪ/noun
A cunning plan or strategy, especially one used to deceive or gain an advantage.
Did you know?‘Ploy’ entered English through French from a word meaning a maneuver or movement, and its modern sense keeps the old energy of calculated deception alive.
Etymological Timeline
Modern English
English
ploy
“a cunning plan or maneuver”
17th Century
French
ployer
“to bend, fold, or turn”
Late Latin
Latin
plicare
“to fold”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*plek-
“to weave, plait, or fold”