A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1983 (DOST Vol. V).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1666-1700+
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1]
Ploy, n.2 (Also in the later dial. = an undertaking, (business) enterprise (1722), piece of fun, practical joke (1749), social gathering, party (1782), employment, occupation (1894). Of doubtful origin; perh. an aphetic use of 17th c. Eng. employ noun.) — 1666-74 Fraser Polichron. 188.
Huntly … said he had litle a doe to buy ployes in this nature, he might be better employed 1704 Cramond Kirk S. V. 135.
Katharin Coupar … said to him that she could tell him a ploy
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Ploy n.2". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 13 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/ploy_n_2>
