Schedule

How to spell schedule

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce schedule

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does schedule mean?

1. nounA planned list of events, tasks, or times at which things are intended to happen.
2. verbTo arrange or plan for something to happen at a particular time.

Schedule in a sentence

• noun

  The train schedule shows three departures every hour.

• verb

  The clinic will schedule your appointment for next Tuesday.

• noun

  Our project schedule leaves no room for delays.

• verb

  Managers must schedule the staff meeting around the launch.

Where does schedule come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Late Latin schedula, meaning 'a little strip of papyrus' or 'a small slip of paper', a diminutive of scheda, which described a sheet or leaf of papyrus. English took it in during the 1300s by way of Old French cedule, and at first it referred quite literally to a slip of paper or a note appended to a document. For centuries the word was even spelled and pronounced with a soft initial sound, as in 'cedule', reflecting that French route. During the Renaissance, scholars deliberately restored the 'sch-' spelling to mirror the Latin original, which is exactly why the modern word looks like it should begin with a hard 'sk' sound, and indeed Americans pronounce it that way while the British kept a softer 'sh'. The sense gradually shifted from any slip or list toward a timed plan of events, the meaning we use today.

How the word is built

• sched- (from Latin schedula: a small slip of paper)
• -ule (diminutive suffix)