means The specific methods and maneuvers used to achieve an immediate aim, especially the small-scale moves that serve a larger strategy.

from From Greek 'taktikos,' meaning 'fit for arranging or ordering,' built on 'tassein,' 'to arrange or draw up in battle order.' The word marched into English in the 17th century by way of the military art of arranging troops — strategy decided where the war went, tactics decided how the line stood when the arrows came. The same Greek root for 'arranging' also gives us 'syntax,' the way we line up words rather than soldiers.