Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - subterfuge

 noun  Etymology: Late Latin subterfugium, from Latin ~re to escape, evade, from subter- secretly (from subter underneath; akin to Latin sub under) + fugere to flee — more at up, fugitive  Date: 1573  1. deception by artifice or stratagem in order to conceal, escape, or evade  2. a deceptive device or stratagem  Synonyms: see deception SUBTERMINAL  adjective  Date: 1828 situated or occurring near but not precisely at an end ~ spots on tail feathers