stratagem

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster

Arts, Literature, Language Courses, Education

4.3 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 15 March 2025

⏱️ 2 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 15, 2025 is:

stratagem • \STRAT-uh-jum\ • noun

A stratagem is a trick or plan for deceiving an enemy or for achieving a goal.

// They devised various stratagems to get the cat into the carrier, but the feisty feline was wise to them all.

See the entry >

Examples:

"In one illustration of the mashup of sacred and superstitious, [author Tabitha] Stanmore describes a 'trial by combat' ... to win Sherborne Castle. The devious bishop sewed 'prayers and charms' inside his fighter's coat to give him an edge. The stratagem was discovered, but the cunning cleric won the castle and kept his miter." — Liesl Schillinger, The New York Times, 7 July 2024

Did you know?

A stratagem is any clever scheme—sometimes one that's part of an overall strategy (i.e., a carefully prepared plan of action). The word stratagem entered English in the 15th century and was originally used in reference to some artifice, such as a military plan or maneuver, that was designed to deceive or outwit the enemy. This military sense can be traced back to the word's Greek ancestor stratēgein, meaning "to act as a general." Stratēgein, in turn, comes from stratēgos (meaning "general"), which comes from stratos ("camp" or "army") and agein ("to lead"). Stratēgos is an ancestor of strategy as well; that word arrived in English more than a century after stratagem.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	It's the word of the day for March 15th.
0:11.0	Today's word is stratagem, spelled S-T-R-A-T-A-G-E-M.
0:19.0	Stratagem is a noun. A stratagem is a trick or plan for deceiving an enemy or for achieving
0:25.4	a goal. Here's the word used in a sentence from the New York Times by Liesel Schillinger. In one
0:31.8	illustration of the mash-up of sacred and superstitious, author Tabitha Stanmore describes a trial by combat to win
0:39.4	Sherburn Castle. The devious bishop sowed prayers and charms into his fighter's coat to give him
0:46.4	an edge. The stratagem was discovered, but the cunning cleric won the castle and kept his mitre.
0:53.0	A stratagem is any clever scheme, sometimes one that's part of an
0:57.2	overall strategy, that is, a carefully prepared plan of action. The word stratagem entered English
1:03.3	in the 15th century, and was originally used in reference to some artifice, such as a military plan
1:10.3	or maneuver, that was designed to deceive
1:12.5	or outwit the enemy.
1:14.4	This military sense can be traced back to the words Greek ancestor, Stratagine, meaning to act
1:20.5	as a general.
1:22.1	Stratagine, in turn, comes from Stratigos, meaning general, which comes from Stratos, camp or army, and
1:29.4	again, meaning to lead. Strategos is an ancestor of strategy as well. That word arrived in
1:35.5	English more than a century after stratagem. With your word of the day, I'm Peter Sokolowski.
1:43.5	Visit Miriamwebster.com today
1:45.8	for definitions, wordplay,
1:47.9	and trending word lookups.

Transcript will be available on the free plan in -7 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Merriam-Webster, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Merriam-Webster and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.