decoy

English

From Dutch de +‎ kooi, literally "the cage". Possibly related to verb coy (which itself may have been influenced by decoy).

decoy (plural decoys)

A person or object meant to lure somebody into danger.
A real or fake animal used by hunters to lure game.
Deceptive military device used to draw enemy attention or fire away from a more important target.
- 2002, Robotech: Battlecry – Guide and Walkthrough
  Just every 5 seconds or so shoot out a decoy near the Cats Eye and the enemies will aim for that instead of the Cats Eye.
An assembly of hooped or netted corridors into which wild ducks may be enticed (originally by tame ducks) and trapped.

person or object meant to lure something to danger

Bulgarian: прима́мка (bg) (primámka)
Burmese: ဒလန် (my) (da.lan)
Catalan: esquer (ca) m, cimbell m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 引诱物ぶつ (yǐnyòuwù) (object), 引誘人じん／引诱人じん (yǐnyòurén) (person), 誘さそえ餌えさ／诱饵 (zh) (yòu'ěr)
Danish: lokkemad c, lokkefugl c
Dutch: lokvogel (nl) m, afleiding (nl) f
Finnish: houkutin (fi), houkutuslintu
French: leurre (fr) m, appât (fr) m
Galician: engado, reclamo (gl), cebo (gl)
German: Lockvogel (de) m, Köder (de) m
Greek: δόλωμα (el) n (dóloma), κράχτης (el) m (kráchtis)
Hungarian: csapda (hu)
Italian: esca (it) f, richiamo (it) m
Japanese: 囮おとり (ja) (おとり, otori), 好餌こうじ (ja) (こうじ, kōji)
Latin: illex m or f
Maori: hunuhunu, kaipātari, hūhunu
Polish: przynęta (pl) f
Portuguese: chamariz (pt) m
Romanian: momeală (ro) f
Russian: прима́нка (ru) f (primánka), подсадна́я у́тка (ru) f (podsadnája útka), нажи́вка (ru) f (nažívka) (bait)
Serbo-Croatian: мамац m (mamac)
Spanish: señuelo, carnada (es) (colloquial)
Swedish: lockbete (sv) n
Tagalog: kati (tl), pangati

animal used by hunters to lure game

Bulgarian: изку́ствена пти́ца f (izkústvena ptíca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 囮おとり子こ (zh) (ézi)
Czech: návnada f
Danish: lokkefugl c
Dutch: afleiding (nl) f
Finnish: houkutuslintu
French: leurre (fr) m
German: Lockvogel (de) m
Greek: δόλωμα (el) n (dóloma)
Ancient: παλευτής m (paleutḗs)
Hungarian: csalétek (hu), csali (hu), csalimadár (hu), csalikacsa, (birdlime to catch birds) lép (hu)
Icelandic: lokkunarfugl m
Italian: zimbello (it) m, stampo (it) m
Maori: tīmori
Portuguese: chamariz (pt) m
Russian: мано́к (ru) m (manók), подсадна́я у́тка (ru) f (podsadnája útka)
Serbo-Croatian: mamac (sh) m
Spanish: señuelo, carnada (es) (colloquial), cimbel m
Swedish: lockfågel c, vette (sv) c
Volapük: (bird) bätaböd, (duck) bätadök

deceptive military device

decoy (third-person singular simple present decoys, present participle decoying, simple past and past participle decoyed)

(transitive) To lead into danger by artifice; to lure into a net or snare; to entrap.
to decoy troops into an ambush; to decoy ducks into a net
- 1770, [Oliver] Goldsmith, The Deserted Village, a Poem, London: […] W[illiam] Griffin, […], →OCLC:
  E'en while fashion's brightest arts decoy, / The heart, distrusting, asks if this be joy.
(intransitive) To act as, or use, a decoy. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

to act as, or use, a decoy

Bulgarian: примамвам (bg) (primamvam)
Danish: lokke
Dutch: lokken (nl)
French: appâter (fr), leurrer (fr), piéger (fr)
German: ködern (de), locken (de)
Greek: δελεάζω (el) (deleázo)
Ancient: παλεύω (paleúō)
Hungarian: (to use one) tőrbe csal, csapdába csal, (to act as one) csalogat (hu)
Maori: onga, tīmori
Russian: прима́нивать (ru) (primánivatʹ), примани́ть (ru) (primanítʹ)
Ukrainian: прима́нювати impf (prymánjuvaty), примани́ти pf (prymanýty)