Meaning

noun a maneuver in a game or conversation

noun an elaborate or deceitful scheme contrived to deceive or evade

originFrom Middle English stratageme, from Old French stratageme, from Latin strategema, from Ancient Greek στρατήγημα (stratḗgēma, “the act of a general, a piece of generalship”), from στρατηγέω (stratēgéō, “to be a general, command an army”), from στρατηγός (stratēgós, “a general, the leader or commander of an army”). See strategy.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0