Gambit

Origin

From French, from Spanish gambito (""), from Italian gambetto (""), from gamba ("leg"), from Latin gamba ("calf").

Full definition of gambit

Noun

1. An opening in chess, in which a minor piece (often a pawn) is sacrificed to gain an advantage.Her clever opening gambit gave her an advantage.
2. Any ploy or stratagem.Their promise to lower taxes is clearly an election-year gambit.
3. A remark intended to open a conversation.