scheme
/skiːm/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.57 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A representation of the aspects of the celestial bodies for any moment or at a given event.
noun
A systematic plan of future action.
noun
An orderly combination of related parts.
noun
A mathematical structure that generalizes the notion of an algebraic variety in several ways, such as taking account of multiplicities and allowing “varieties” defined over any commutative ring. Formally, a locally ringed space that admits a covering by open sets, each of which is isomorphic to an affine scheme (i.e. the spectrum of some commutative ring).
Example Sentences
- "a blue case, from which was drawn a scheme of nativity"
- "The stoical scheme of supplying our wants by lopping off our desires, is like cutting off our feet when we want shoes."
- "Originally the opening had doubtless marked the projection of another road, but the scheme had come to nothing."
- "There are schemes to transfer electrical energy from braking trains into local power grids, and even more radical plans for “moving platforms” that dock with high-speed trains. […] A “moving platform” scheme proposed by Priestmangoode 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 […]."
- "Such [rural solar plant] schemes are of little help to industry or other heavy users of electricity. Nor is solar power yet as cheap as the grid. For all that, the rapid arrival of electric light to Indian villages is long overdue. When the national grid suffers its next huge outage, as it did in July 2012 when hundreds of millions were left in the dark, look for specks of light in the villages."
- "Her brain is continually fermenting new schemes."
Etymology
From late Middle English scheame, from Medieval Latin schēma (“figure, form”), from Ancient Greek σχῆμα (skhêma, “form, shape”), from ἔχω (ékhō, “to hold”). Doublet of schema. Compare sketch.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: scheame, schēma, σχῆμα, *seǵʰ-