Where does “stratagem” come from?
Stratagem comes from Middle English stratageme, from Old French stratageme, from Latin strategema, from Ancient Greek στρατήγημα, a noun formed from στρατηγός meaning "general" and -μα, ultimately from ἄγω meaning "to lead," tracing back to Proto-Hellenic ágō.
stratagem (English): A tactic or artifice designed to gain the upper...
Definitions
- A tactic or artifice designed to gain the upper...
Ancestry of “stratagem”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | stratageme | — |
| 2 | Old French | stratageme | — |
| 3 | Latin | strategema | a stratagem; any artifice, trickery |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | στρατήγημα | act of a general, piece of generalship; trick,... |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | στρατηγέω | to be a general |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -έω | Used to form verbs from nouns, adjectives and... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -éyeti | Forms causative imperfective verbs from roots;... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -yeti | Creates transitive imperfective verbs from roots |
Words derived from “stratagem”