Ploy Is Employ With the Beginning Knocked Off
A ploy is a cunning tactic. The word is a clipped form of a much plainer one.
A ploy is a cunning manoeuvre intended to gain an advantage. It is an aphetic form of *employ* — the unstressed first syllable simply fell away, a process that also gave *cute* from *acute*, *squire* from *esquire* and *spy* from *espy*. In Scots and northern English *ploy* meant an activity, occupation or escapade without any suggestion of cunning; the sense of trickery is a later narrowing, probably reinforced by *deploy*.
- A cunning tactic. *A delaying ploy.*
- An escapade (Scots). *A ploy.*
- Employ — the source. *To employ.*
- Deploy — a relative. *To deploy.*
- Latin — *implicare*. *The root.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | ploy | A ploy. |
| Plural | ploys | Ploys. |
| Source | employ | To employ. |
| Related | deploy | To deploy. |
| Latin | implicare | To involve. |
- It was a delaying ploy.Tactic.
- Ploy is clipped from employ.Etymology.
- In Scots it meant an escapade.Dialect.
Words that lost their first syllable
- Ploy — from employ
- Cute — from acute
- Spy — from espy
- Squire — from esquire
- Fence — from defence
Aphetic form of *employ*, from Old French *emploier*, from Latin *implicare*, to involve.
Where does ploy come from?
From employ, with the unstressed first syllable dropped, a process called aphesis.
Did ploy always mean trickery?
No. In Scots and northern English it meant an activity or escapade, with no suggestion of cunning.