schema

American  

[skee-muh] / ˈski mə /

noun

schemata, plural schemas plural

1. a diagram, plan, or scheme.

   Synonyms:

   model, framework, outline

2. an underlying organizational pattern or structure; conceptual framework.

   A schema provides the basis by which someone relates to the events they experience.

3. (in Kantian epistemology) a concept, similar to a universal but limited to phenomenal knowledge, by which an object of knowledge or an idea of pure reason may be apprehended.

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schema British  

/ ˈskiːmə /

noun

1. a plan, diagram, or scheme

2. (in the philosophy of Kant) a rule or principle that enables the understanding to apply its categories and unify experience

   universal succession is the schema of causality

3. psychol a mental model of aspects of the world or of the self that is structured in such a way as to facilitate the processes of cognition and perception

4. logic an expression using metavariables that may be replaced by object language expressions to yield a well-formed formula. Thus A = A is an axiom schema for identity, representing the infinite number of axioms, x = x, y = y, z = z, etc

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Etymology

Origin of schema

First recorded in 1790–1800; from Greek schêma “form, shape, appearance”

Explanation

If you were just commissioned to modernize your town's library, the first thing you'll make is a schema: an outline of your plan for reinventing libraries. Schema sounds like scheme, but they have different nuances. You scheme to snatch a cookie from the jar. A schema is more of a master plan. It can also just be an organized vision. If you have a master concept about how the world works, that's your world organization schema. Someone with an insanely big idea about how to change the world has "a grand schema." Now she just needs to make a practical schema for actually making that change.

Example Sentences

While it is interesting that the chatbot recognized that I was testing it with a Winogram Schema, it failed to actually exhibit "commonsense reasoning," as it claimed, and its conclusion is nonsense.

From Salon • Apr. 30, 2023

This sentence is an example of a Winograd Schema.

From Salon • Apr. 30, 2023

Atlantia's shares closed at 22.74 euros on Friday, just below the 23 euro per share Schema Alfa offered to pay.

From Reuters • Nov. 11, 2022

The Benetton family and the U.S. fund, who have joined forces through investment vehicle Schema Alfa, aim to take the Italian airport and motorway operator private by the end of this year.

From Reuters • Oct. 3, 2022

The compilers of the Schema think of course that this is as clear as, e.g., the œcumenicity of a Council.

From Letters From Rome on the Council by D?llinger, Johann Joseph Ignaz von