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gambits' - 2 dictionary results

gam⋅bit

  [gam-bit]
Use gambits' in a Sentence
–noun
1. Chess. an opening in which a player seeks to obtain some advantage by sacrificing a pawn or piece.
2. any maneuver by which one seeks to gain an advantage.
3. a remark made to open or redirect a conversation.
Origin:
1650–60; < F < Sp gambito or It gambetto (akin to OF gambet, jambet), equiv. to gamb(a) leg + -etta -et

Synonyms:
2. ploy, stratagem, scheme, ruse.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To gambits'
gam·bit   (gām'bĭt)   
n.  
  1. An opening in chess in which a minor piece, or pieces, usually a pawn, is offered in exchange for a favorable position.
  2. A maneuver, stratagem, or ploy, especially one used at an initial stage.
  3. A remark intended to open a conversation.

[Ultimately from Spanish gambito, from Italian gambetto, act of tripping someone up in wrestling, from gamba, leg, from Old Italian; see gambol.]
Usage Note: Critics familiar with the nature of chess gambits have sometimes maintained that the word should not be used in an extended sense except to refer to maneuvers that involve a tactical sacrifice or loss for some advantage. But gambit is well established in the general sense of "maneuver" and in the related sense of "a remark intended to open a conversation," which usually carries no implication of sacrifice.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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