de·coy • n. / ˈdēˌkoi/ 1. a bird or mammal, or an imitation of one, used by hunters to attract other birds or mammals. ∎  a person or thing used to lure an animal or person into a trap. ∎  a fake or nonworking article, esp. a weapon, used to mislead or misdirect.2. a pond into which wild ducks may be enticed for capture.• v. / diˈkoi/ [tr.] lure or entice (a person or animal) away from an intended course, typically into a trap.ORIGIN: mid 16th cent. (earlier as coy): from Dutch de kooi ‘the decoy,’ from Middle Dutch de kouw ‘the cage,’ from Latin cavea ‘cage.’ Sense 2 is from the practice of using tamed ducks to lead wild ones along channels into captivity.

decoy pool with netted approaches for the capture of wildfowl. XVII. Evidence for the corr. vb. is earlier in Sc. (XVI) and in the gen. sense ‘entice, allure’; but the sb. was no doubt prior, and perh. — Du. de kooi ‘the decoy’, with assim. to †decoy gambling card-game (XVI), of unkn. orig. Du. kooi, †koye is a parallel development to MDu. kouwe, MLG. kaue — L. cavea CAGE.