Schemen

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʃeːmən/
• Homophone: schämen (some speakers, especially northern and eastern regions)

Etymology 1

From Middle High German scheme m, f, from Old High German *skemo m, skema f, from Proto-Germanic *skīmô, *skimô, *skimō.

The word meant “mask” in Upper German, but “shadow, silhouette” in Central and Low German; compare Middle Low German schēme, from Old Saxon skimo. The modern meaning is based on the northern usage, in part after Luther.

Cognate with Middle Dutch scheme alongside the stem variant schim (“shadow”). Also related with German schimmern, English shimmer, Dutch schemering (“twilight”).

Noun

Schemen m (strong, genitive Schemens, plural Schemen)

1. an indistinct shape or shadow; a silhouette in the dark, in mist, etc.
2. a sight of whose reality one is uncertain; an illusion, spectre, phantom

Declension

Declension of Schemen [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Schemen	die	Schemen
genitive	eines	des	Schemens	der	Schemen
dative	einem	dem	Schemen	den	Schemen
accusative	einen	den	Schemen	die	Schemen

Derived terms

• schemenhaft

Etymology 2

Noun

Schemen

1. plural of Schema

Further reading

• “Schemen” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache