Emily Dickinson Lexicon

STRAT'A-GEM, n. [L. stratagema; Fr. stratageme; It. stratagemma; Gr. στρατηγημα, from στρατηγεω, to lead an army.]

1. An artifice, particularly in war; a plan or scheme for deceiving an enemy. – Shak.
2. Any artifice; a trick by which some advantage is intended to be obtained. Those oft are stratagems which errors seem. – Pope.