Pronounced: proh-lih-GOM-uh-non (alt: proh-lih-GOM-uh-nuhn), noun
Notes: Quite a mouthful of a word!
Yesterday’s word
The word deke means “to fake an opponent out of position (as in ice hockey)”
First usage
Our word came into English in the 1950s
Background / Comments
Our word is a shortened form of decoy. It was used as a noun by Ernest Hemingway (in Across the River and into the Trees) to refer to hunting decoys. It then began to show up in Canadian writings with the meaning given above, and has spread in usage to other sports. I don’t recall hearing it used in college football, which is about the only sport I watch.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 