Etymograph

English

schedule

Schedule comes from Middle English cedule, from Old French cedule, from Late Latin schedula ‘papyrus strip’, diminutive of scheda, from Greek σχέδη ‘papyrus leaf’.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσχέδη1skhédē‘leaf, page’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscheda1‘strip of papyrus’
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEschedula1‘papyrus strip’diminutive of scheda
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400cedule1
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600cedule1
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cedule1
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1900schedule1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English schedule
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1900, John the Stylite, Select Narratives of Holy Women (Studia Sinaitica; X): “He demands the blood-written schedule back from the demon,…”.

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσχέδηWiktionary, English scheduleskhédē‘leaf, page’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEschedaWiktionary, English schedule‘strip of papyrus’
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEschedulaWiktionary, English schedule‘papyrus strip’diminutive of scheda
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400ceduleWiktionary, English schedule
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600ceduleWiktionary, English schedule
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ceduleWiktionary, English schedule
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1900scheduleWiktionary, English schedule. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1900, John the Stylite, Select Narratives of Holy Women (Studia Sinaitica; X): “He demands the blood-written schedule back from the demon,…”

The story

This word was historically pronounced /ˈsɛdjuːl/, /ˈsɛdʒuːl/; the pronunciations with /ʃ/ and /sk/ are due to the spelling (the latter may have been reinforced by learned influence); compare schism.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *skeyd- ‘to divide, split’

shit, rescind, rescission, schismatic, 23 more

through Proto-Indo-European *skid-yé-ti

zest, schism, schist, 6 more

Today it means

noun A procedural plan, usually but not necessarily tabular in nature, indicating a sequence of operations and the planned times at which those operations are to occur.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “schedule”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Ancient Greek σχέδη / schedule

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