Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Stratagem \Strat"a*gem\, n. [F. stratag[`e]me (cf. Sp.
   estratagema, It. stratagemma), L. strategema, Gr. ?, fr. ? to
   be leader of an army, fr. ? a general; ? an army (probably as
   being spread out; cf. {Stratum}) + ? to lead. See {Agent}.]
   An artifice or trick in war for deceiving the enemy; hence,
   in general, artifice; deceptive device; secret plot; evil
   machination.

         Fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils. --Shak.

         Those oft are stratagems which error seem, Nor is it
         Homer nods, but we that dream.           --Pope.

Source : WordNet®

stratagem
     n 1: a maneuver in a game or conversation [syn: {ploy}, {gambit}]
     2: an elaborate or deceitful scheme contrived to deceive or
        evade; "his testimony was just a contrivance to throw us
        off the track" [syn: {contrivance}, {dodge}]