Where does “ploy” come from?
Ploy comes from French emploi, derived from Old French emploier, from Latin implicāre meaning "to involve or engage," composed of the prefix in- and plicāre meaning "to fold."
ploy (English): A tactic, strategy, or gimmick; Sport; frolic;...
Definitions
- A tactic, strategy, or gimmick; Sport; frolic;...
Ancestry of “ploy”, step by step
ploy traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English deploy
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | deploy | To prepare and arrange for use; To unfold, open,... |
| 2 | French | déployer | to spread out, to unfold; to deploy |
| 3 | Middle French | desployer | Alternative form of desploier |
| 4 | Old French | desploier | — |
| 5 | Latin | deplico | I unfold; I explain |
| 6 | Latin | dē- | of; from |
| 7 | Latin | dē | of; concerning; about |
| 8 | Latin | post | behind; after, since, besides, except; behind,... |
| 9 | Latin | poste | ablative singular of postis |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | posti | behind, after |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | pósti | after |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | pós | afterwards, post; by, at |
via English employ
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | employ | The state of being an employee; employment; The... |
| 2 | French | emploi | job; employment; use; need |
| 3 | French | employer | to employ |
| 4 | Middle French | employer | to employ; to use; to make use of |
| 5 | Old French | emploier | Alternative form of emploiier |
| 6 | Latin | implicō | to entangle, entwine |
| 7 | Latin | īn- | un-, non-, not |
| 8 | Latin | în | in, at, on, upon, from (space) |
| 9 | Latin | en | lookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | en | in |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁én | in |