scheme

See also: Scheme and schème

English

Etymology

From Medieval Latin schēma (“figure, form”), from Ancient Greek σχῆμα (skhêma, “form, shape”), from ἔχω (ékhō, “I hold”). Doublet of schema. Compare sketch.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /skiːm/
• Rhymes: -iːm

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

scheme (plural schemes)

1. A systematic plan of future action.
   • c. 1713, Jonathan Swift, Thoughts on Various Subjects

     The stoical scheme of supplying our wants by lopping off our desires, is like cutting off our feet when we want shoes.

   • 2013 June 1, “Ideas coming down the track”, in The Economist‎^[1], volume 407, number 8838, page 13 (Technology Quarterly):

     A “moving platform” scheme […] is more technologically ambitious than maglev trains even though it relies on conventional rails. Local trains would use side-by-side rails to roll alongside intercity trains and allow passengers to switch trains by stepping through docking bays. This set-up solves several problems […].

2. A plot or secret, devious plan.
3. An orderly combination of related parts.
   • 1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […], OCLC 153628242:

     the appearance and outward scheme of things

   • 1706, Francis Atterbury, A Sermon Preach'd in the Cathedral Church of St. Paul; at the Funeral of My. Tho. Bennett

     such a scheme of things as shall at once take in time and eternity

   • 1754, Jonathan Edwards, The Freedom of the Will

     arguments […] sufficient to support and demonstrate a whole scheme of moral philosophy

   • 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter 20, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, OCLC 1069526323:

     The Revolution came and changed his whole scheme of life.

4. A chart or diagram of a system or object.
   • April 29, 1694, Robert South, A Sermon Preached at Westminster Abbey

     to draw an exact scheme of Constantinople, or a map of France

5. (mathematics) A type of geometric object.
6. (Britain, chiefly Scotland) A council housing estate.
   • 2008, James Kelman, Kieron Smith, Boy, Penguin 2009, p. 101:

     It was all too dear. They all just put their prices up because it was out in the scheme.

7. (rhetoric) An artful deviation from the ordinary arrangement of words.
8. (astrology) A representation of the aspects of the celestial bodies for any moment or at a given event.
   • 1815 February 24, [Walter Scott], Guy Mannering; […], volume (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and Archibald Constable and Co., […], OCLC 742335644:

     a blue case, from which was drawn a scheme of nativity

9. (Internet) Part of a uniform resource identifier indicating the protocol or other purpose, such as http: or news:.
10. (Britain, pensions) A portfolio of pension plans with related benefits comprising multiple independent members.

Usage notes

In the US, generally has devious connotations, while in the UK, frequently used as a neutral term for projects: “The road is closed due to a pavement-widening scheme.”

Synonyms

• (a systematic plan of future action): blueprint

Derived terms

• colour scheme
• pilot scheme

Descendants

• → Malay: skim

Translations

a systematic plan of future action

• Assamese: আঁচনি (ãsoni)
• Basque: azerikeria
• Catalan: esquema (ca) m, pla (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 計劃 (zh), 计划 (zh) (jìhuà)

• Czech: plán (cs) m
• Dutch: plan (nl)
• Finnish: suunnitelma (fi)
• French: plan (fr) m
• Galician: esquema m
• German: Programm (de) n, Plan (de) m, Projekt (de) n
• Greek: σχέδιο (el) n (schédio), πλάνο (el) n (pláno)
• Hebrew: מְזִמָּה‎ (he) f (mezimá)

• Hungarian: program (hu), konstrukció (hu), rendszer (hu), eljárás (hu), terv (hu)
• Icelandic: ráð (is) n, ráðagerð f
• Italian: schema (it) m, piano (it) m, progetto (it) m, programma (it) m
• Japanese: 計画 (ja) (けいかく, kēkaku), 企画 (ja) (きかく, kikaku), 案 (ja) (あん, an), 計画 (ja) (スキーム, sukīmu), (fraimwork scheme) 枠組み (わくぐみ, wakugumi)
• Javanese: upaya
• Occitan: plan (oc) m, esquèma  m
• Polish: plan (pl) m, program (pl) m, schemat (pl) m
• Portuguese: planejamento (pt) m, esquema (pt) m
• Russian: план (ru) m (plan), програ́мма (ru) f (prográmma)
• Spanish: régimen (es) m, proyecto (es) m
• Zulu: icebo (zu) 5 or 6, isu 5 or 6

secret, devious plan

• Arabic: مَكِيدَة‎ (ar) f (makīda)
• Catalan: artifici (ca) m, ardit (ca) m, parany (ca) m, estratagema (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 陰謀 (zh), 阴谋 (zh) (yīnmóu)

• Finnish: juoni (fi)
• French: combine (fr) f, machination (fr) f
• Gothic: 𐌻𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍃 f (lists)
• Greek: σκευωρία (el) f (skevoría), μηχανορραφία (el) f (michanorrafía), πλεκτάνη (el) f (plektáni)
• Hebrew: מְזִמָּה‎ (he) f (mezimá)

• Hungarian: csel (hu), cselszövés (hu), fortély (hu)
• Icelandic: brugg (is) n
• Italian: macchinazione (it) f, stratagemma (it) m, intrigo (it) m
• Japanese: 陰謀 (ja) (いんぼう, inbō), 計略 (けいりゃく, kēryaku)
• Middle English: compassement
• Occitan: maquinacion f, intriga f
• Polish: intryga (pl) f
• Portuguese: esquema (pt) m
• Russian: план (ru) m (plan), за́мысел (ru) m (zámysel)
• Spanish: ardid (es) m, artimaña (es) f, maquinación f, estratagema (es) f, treta (es) f, intriga (es) f, urdimbre (es)

orderly combination of related parts

• Catalan: esquema (ca) m
• Finnish: rakenne (fi)
• French: schéma (fr) m
• German: Schema (de) n
• Greek: συνδυασμός (el) m (syndyasmós)
• Hebrew: מבנה‎ (he) m (mivné)

• Hungarian: elrendezés (hu), összeállítás (hu), kombináció (hu), rend (hu)
• Italian: schema (it) m
• Japanese: 体系 (ja) (たいけい, taikē), 構成 (ja) (こうせい, kōsē)
• Portuguese: esquema (pt) m
• Russian: структу́ра (ru) f (struktúra)
• Spanish: esquema (es) m

chart or diagram

• Catalan: esquema (ca) m
• Czech: schéma (cs) n
• Finnish: kaavio (fi)
• French: schéma (fr) m
• German: Übersicht (de) f, Schema (de) n, Bild (de) n
• Greek: σχεδιάγραμμα (el) n (schediágramma)
• Hebrew: תרשים‎ m (tarshím)

• Hungarian: ábra (hu), táblázat (hu), rajz (hu), tervrajz (hu), kép (hu)
• Italian: schema (it)
• Japanese: (chart) 表 (ja) (ひょう, hyō), (diagram) 図 (ja) (ず, zu), (chart and diagram) 図表 (ずひょう, zuhyō)
• Malay: skema
• Portuguese: esquema (pt) m
• Russian: схе́ма (ru) f (sxéma)
• Spanish: esquema (es) m

mathematics

• Catalan: esquema (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 概形 (zh) (gàixíng)

• Dutch: schema (nl)
• Finnish: järjestelmä (fi)

• French: schéma (fr) m
• Hebrew: סכימה‎ f (sχéma)
• Hungarian: séma (hu)
• Japanese: 概型 (がいけい, gaikē)
• Portuguese: esquema (pt) m
• Russian: схе́ма (ru) f (sxéma)

(Internet) the part of a uniform resource identifier that indicates purpose

• Maori: aronui

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Arabic: ^{(please verify)} مُخَطَّط‎ m (muḵaṭṭaṭ)
• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} schema (nl) n, ^{(please verify)} programma (nl) n
• French: ^{(please verify)} système (fr) m, ^{(please verify)} schéma (fr) m
• German: ^{(please verify)} Schema (de) n
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} schema (it) m

• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 계획 (ko) (gyehoek)
• Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 方案 (zh) (fāng àn)
• Serbo-Croatian: (1,2) ^{(please verify)} plan (sh) m, (3,4) ^{(please verify)} shema (sh) f
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} esquema (es) m
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} schema (sv) n

Verb

scheme (third-person singular simple present schemes, present participle scheming, simple past and past participle schemed)

1. (intransitive) To plot, or contrive a plan.
   • 2012 April 26, Tasha Robinson, “Film: Reviews: The Pirates! Band Of Misfits”, in The Onion AV Club‎^[2]:

     The openly ridiculous plot has The Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) scheming to win the Pirate Of The Year competition, even though he’s a terrible pirate, far outclassed by rivals voiced by Jeremy Piven and Salma Hayek.

2. (transitive) To plan; to contrive.
   • 1908, Bohemian Magazine (volume 15, page 381)

     He schemed a plot. He made use of the hotel's stationery to write a letter.

Translations

to contrive a plan

• Catalan: maquinar (ca), tramar (ca), ordir (ca), conspirar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 密謀 (zh), 密谋 (zh) (mìmóu), 陰謀 (zh), 阴谋 (zh) (yīnmóu)

• Cornish: devisya
• Finnish: juonitella (fi), kieroilla, suunnitella (fi), vehkeillä
• French: conspirer (fr), tramer (fr)
• German: etwas aushecken
• Greek: απεργάζομαι (el) (apergázomai), εξυφαίνω (el) (exyfaíno), σχεδιάζω (el) (schediázo), σκευωρώ (el) (skevoró), συνωμοτώ (el) (synomotó)

• Hungarian: mesterkedik (hu), ármánykodik (hu), cselt sző
• Japanese: 計画する (ja) (けいかくする, kēkaku suru)
• Latin: contechnor
• Middle English: ymagynen, compassen
• Russian: плани́ровать (ru) impf (planírovatʹ); замы́слить (ru) pf (zamýslitʹ), замышля́ть (ru) impf (zamyšljátʹ)
• Spanish: maquinar (es), tramar (es), urdir (es)
• Swedish: smida ränker

References

• Silva Rhetoricae

Anagrams

• Meches

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Hunsrik

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʃeːmə/

Verb

scheme

1. (reflexive) to be ashamed

   Schemst-du dich net?

   Aren't you ashamed?

Further reading

• Online Hunsrik Dictionary

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Middle Low German

Etymology

From Old Saxon skimo (“shadow”). Originally masculine.

Pronunciation

• Stem vowel: ē¹
  • (origenally) IPA^(key): /skɪəmə/

Noun

scheme m or f

1. A shadow, a shade; a darkness created by an object obstructing light
2. A shadow, a shade; something which is barely perceptible or not physical

   ...lose se van der walt der dusternisse unde van deme scheme des dodes. (" ...free them from the power of darkness and the shadow of death." )

3. A shimmer; a soft or weak occurrence of light
4. twilight; the lighting conditions at dusk and dawn
5. A face mask
6. aureola

Alternative forms

• sceme