Schemed

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The process of creating a strategic plan or plot, often with an element of cunning or trickery
2. Engaging in the formulation of a complex plan, especially one that may involve manipulative or cunning elements for a desired outcome
3. Formulated a detailed or complex plan, often with the intent to achieve a particular goal through strategy

Etymology: The past tense of "scheme" is "schemed," and the verb's story begins with a shape rather than a plot. In ancient Greek, "skhēma" meant "form" or "shape," and it came from "ékhō," "to hold." A figure or a physical arrangement was, in that sense, something held in a particular form. The Romans borrowed the idea as "schēma," which Medieval Latin carried forward into the language of learning. English took it in the late Middle Ages as "scheame," and the sense of a visible arrangement stayed close to the surface for a long time. Over the centuries the word moved from outward form toward inward design: a diagram, then an arrangement of parts, then a deliberate plan. The verb "to scheme" grew from that plan sense, so "schemed" carries the idea of having arranged something in advance with a purpose in mind.

Synonyms: planned, devised, contrived

Antonyms: disorganized, unplanned