释义 |
de·coy I. \də̇ˈkȯi, dēˈ-, ˈdēˌ-\ noun (-s) Usage: often attributive Etymology: probably from Dutch de kooi, literally, the cage, from de, masculine def. article (from Middle Dutch, akin to Old English thæt, neuter def. article) + kooi cage, from Middle Dutch cōie, from Latin cavea — more at that, cage 1. : a pond or pool having net-covered channels into which wild fowl (as ducks) are lured for capture < a vast game decoy used to provide sport for the local gentry — O.S.Nock > 2. : something intended to allure or entice especially into a trap : lure < the commander of that sub … took us to be a decoy — H.A.Chippendale > specifically : an artificial bird used by hunters to attract live birds (as water fowl) within shot 3. : a person used as a lure: a. : one employed especially by the police to induce a suspected person to commit an offense under circumstances that will lead to his detection b. : one employed to lead another into a position where he may be swindled, robbed, or otherwise injured II. \ ̷ ̷ˈ ̷ ̷ sometimes ˈdēˌ-\ verb (-ed/-ing/-s) transitive verb : to lure by or as if by a decoy : allure, entice, entrap < the female bird … practiced the same arts upon us to decoy us away — John Burroughs > < he had decoyed her … into holding him dearer than her own ambition — Victoria Sackville-West > intransitive verb : to become lured by or as if by a decoy : fall into a trap < the wind was in the left front, so the old drake decoyed from the right rear — Handbook on Shotgun Shooting > Synonyms: see lure |