schemes

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
scheme/skiːm/

▶noun

• 1 a systematic plan or arrangement for attaining some particular object or putting a particular idea into effect.

  ■ a particular ordered system or arrangement: a classical rhyme scheme.

• 2 a secret or underhand plan; a plot.

▶verb

• 1 form a scheme, especially a devious one or with intent to do something wrong.

• 2 arrange according to a colour scheme.

– derivatives
schemer noun,
scheming adjective & noun,
schemingly adverb.

– origin C16 (denoting a figure of speech, later ‘diagram of the position of celestial objects’): from L. schema, from Gk (see schema).