Hypertext Webster Gateway: "decoy"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Decoy \De*coy"\ (d[-e]*koi"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Decoyed}; p.
pr. & vb. n. {Decoying}.] [Pref. de- + coy; orig., to quiet,
soothe, caress, entice. See {Coy}.]
To lead into danger by artifice; to lure into a net or snare;
to entrap; to insnare; to allure; to entice; as, to decoy
troops into an ambush; to decoy ducks into a net.
Did to a lonely cot his steps decoy. --Thomson.
E'en while fashion's brightest arts decoy, The heart,
distrusting, asks if this be joy. --Goldsmith.
Syn: To entice; tempt; allure; lure. See {Allure}.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Decoy \De*coy"\, n.
1. Anything intended to lead into a snare; a lure that
deceives and misleads into danger, or into the power of an
enemy; a bait.
2. A fowl, or the likeness of one, used by sportsmen to
entice other fowl into a net or within shot.
3. A place into which wild fowl, esp. ducks, are enticed in
order to take or shoot them.
4. A person employed by officers of justice, or parties
exposed to injury, to induce a suspected person to commit
an offense under circumstances that will lead to his
detection.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
decoy
n 1: a beguiler who leads someone into danger (usually as part of
a plot) [syn: {steerer}]
2: something used to lure victims into danger [syn: {bait}, {lure}]
v : lure or entrap with or as if with a decoy
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