Unscheming

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Not involved in making secret plans or devious plots
2. Lacking the quality of being calculated or strategically manipulative in intent
3. Free from scheming behavior or the tendency to plan cunningly

Etymology: "Unscheming" is simply the prefix "un-" joined to "scheming," meaning not given to devising plots or secret plans. The "un-" prefix comes from Old English and is used to form negatives from adjectives and participles, so "unscheming" describes someone who is free of guile or cunning. "Scheming" itself traces back to the noun "scheme," which came into English from Latin "schema" via Greek, originally meaning a figure or form, before it came to mean a plan or design. The adjective built on that sense of planning, and "un-" reverses it, giving a word for openness and straightforwardness.