Ploying
/ˈplɔɪ.ɪŋ/noun
Present participle of ploy, meaning to maneuver or act with a strategy or trick.
Did you know?Ploy is a back-formation from deploy, ultimately tied to French and Latin words for ‘folding apart’ and military maneuvering, so the word’s energy has always been about calculated movement.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
plicāre
“to fold”
Late Latin
Late Latin
plēgāre / plicāre-derived forms
“to fold, intertwine, or arrange”
Old French
Old French
deployer
“to unfold, spread out, arrange for action”
Middle English
English
ployen
“to unfold, deploy, or put into action”
18th Century
English
ploy
“a movement, maneuver, or strategic action; later, a trick or scheme”
Modern English
English
ploying
“engaging in a maneuver or scheme”
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