Etymology

ploy

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Today it means: A tactic, strategy, or scheme. Full definition →

Middle French ployer ← Latin plicāre
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ploy · noun1

  1. Latin · derived fromplicāre
  2. Middle French · derived fromployer
  3. English todayploy

Possibly from a shortened form of employ or deploy. Or from earlier ploye, from Middle English, borrowed from Middle French ployer (compare modern plier), from Latin plicāre.

ploy · verb2

Probably abbreviated from deploy.

Words from the same roots

Latinplicāre all →

plyplica

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.