Pattern vs Scheme - What's the difference?

pattern | scheme |

As nouns the difference between pattern and scheme

is that pattern is model, example while scheme is a systematic plan of future action.

As verbs the difference between pattern and scheme

is that pattern is to apply a pattern while scheme is to plot, or contrive a plan.

As a proper noun Scheme is

a programming language, one of the two major dialects of Lisp.

pattern

English

(wikipedia pattern)

Noun

(en noun)

Model, example.

# Something from which a copy is made; a model or outline.

#* 1923 , ‘President Wilson’, Time , 18 Jun 1923:

There is no reason why all colleges and universities should be cut to the same pattern .

# Someone or something seen as an example to be imitated; an exemplar.

#* 1946 , Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy , I.16:

The Platonic Socrates was a pattern to subsequent philosophers for many ages.

# A representative example.

# (US) The material needed to make a piece of clothing.

# (textiles) The paper or cardboard template from which the parts of a garment are traced onto fabric prior to cutting out and assembling.

# (metalworking, dated) A full-sized model around which a mould of sand is made, to receive the melted metal. It is usually made of wood and in several parts, so as to be removed from the mould without damage.

# (computing) A text string containing wildcards, used for matching.

There were no files matching the pattern *.txt.

Decorative arrangement.

# A design, motif or decoration, especially formed from regular repeated elements.

#* 2003 , Valentino, ‘Is there a future in fashion's past?’, Time , 5 Feb 2003:

On my way to work the other day, I stopped at a church in Rome and saw a painting of the Madonna. The subtle pattern of blues and golds in the embroidery of her dress was so amazing that I used it to design a new evening dress for my haute couture.

# A naturally-occurring or random arrangement of shapes, colours etc. which have a regular or decorative effect.

#* 2011 , Rachel Cooke, The Observer , 19 Jun 2011:

He lifted the entire joint or fowl up into the air, speared on a carving fork, and sliced pieces off it so that they fell on the plate below in perfectly organised patterns .

# The given spread, range etc. of shot fired from a gun.

# A particular sequence of events, facts etc. which can be understood, used to predict the future, or seen to have a mathematical, geometric, statistical etc. relationship.

#* 1980 , ‘Shifting Targets’, Time , 6 Oct 1980:

The three killings pointed to an ugly new shift in the enduring pattern of violence in Northern Ireland: the mostly Protestant Ulster police, or those suspected of affiliation with them, have become more prominent targets for the I.R.A. than the British troops.

#* 2003 , Kate Hudson, The Guardian , 14 Aug 2003:

Look again at how the US and its allies behaved then, and the pattern is unmistakable.

# (linguistics) An intelligible arrangement in a given area of language.

Synonyms

* original (1) * stencil (1) * tessellation (2) * category (3) * cycle (4) * similarity (5) * See also

Antonyms

* antipattern

Derived terms

* design pattern

Verb

(en verb)

to apply a pattern

To make or design (anything) by, from, or after, something that serves as a pattern; to copy; to model; to imitate.

* Sir T. Herbert

[A temple] patterned from that which Adam reared in Paradise.

to follow an example

to fit into a pattern

To serve as an example for.

Synonyms

* model * categorize (2)

scheme

English

(wikipedia scheme)

Noun

(en noun)

A systematic plan of future action.

* Jonathan Swift

The stoical scheme of supplying our wants by lopping off our desires, is like cutting off our feet when we want shoes.

* {{quote-magazine, title=Ideas coming down the track, date=2013-06-01, volume=407, issue=8838

, page=13 (Technology Quarterly), magazine=(The Economist) citation , passage=A “moving platform” scheme

A plot or secret, devious plan.

An orderly combination of related parts.

* John Locke

the appearance and outward scheme of things

* Atterbury

such a scheme of things as shall at once take in time and eternity

* J. Edwards

arguments sufficient to support and demonstrate a whole scheme of moral philosophy

* Macaulay

The Revolution came and changed his whole scheme of life.

A chart or diagram of a system or object.

* South

to draw an exact scheme of Constantinople, or a map of France

(mathematics) A type of topological space.

(UK, chiefly, Scotland) A council housing estate.

* 2008 , (James Kelman), Kieron Smith, Boy , Penguin 2009, p. 101:

It was all too dear. They all just put their prices up because it was out in the scheme .

(rhetoric) An artful deviation from the ordinary arrangement of words.

(astrology) A representation of the aspects of the celestial bodies for any moment or at a given event.

* Sir Walter Scott

a blue case, from which was drawn a scheme of nativity

Part of a uniform resource identifier indicating the protocol or other purpose, such as http: or news:.

Usage notes

In the US, generally has devious connotations, while in the UK, frequently used as a neutral term for projects: “The road is closed due to a pavement-widening scheme.”

Synonyms

* (a systematic plan of future action) blueprint

Verb

(schem)

To plot, or contrive a plan.

* {{quote-news

, year=2012 , date=April 26 , author=Tasha Robinson , title=Film: Reviews: The Pirates! Band Of Misfits : , work=The Onion AV Club citation , page= , passage=The openly ridiculous plot has The Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) scheming to win the Pirate Of The Year competition, even though he’s a terrible pirate, far outclassed by rivals voiced by Jeremy Piven and Salma Hayek. }}

References

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