Ruse
/ruːz/noun
A trick or deceptive maneuver.
Did you know?English ruse comes through French from an older word meaning “to break or shatter,” and it was used for a deceptive dodge long before modern spy games.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*reu-
“to break, tear apart”
Latin
Latin
rudere
“to break up, shatter”
Old French
Old French
ruser
“to evade, trick, use cunning”
16th Century
English
ruse
“a trick, stratagem, or act of evasion”
Modern English
English
ruse
“a deceptive maneuver or trick”