Schema

noun, plural schemata
[skee-muh-tuh or, sometimes, skee-mah-tuh, ski-] /ˈski mə tə or, sometimes, skiˈmɑ tə, skɪ-/ (Show IPA), schemas.
1.
a diagram, plan, or scheme.
Synonyms: outline, framework, model.
2.
an underlying organizational pattern or structure; conceptual framework:
A schema provides the basis by which someone relates to the events he or she experiences.
3.
(in Kantian epistemology) a concept, similar to a universal but limited to phenomenal knowledge, by which an object of knowledge or an idea of pure reason may be apprehended.
noun (pl) -mata (-mətə)
1.
a plan, diagram, or scheme
2.
(in the philosophy of Kant) a rule or principle that enables the understanding to apply its categories and unify experience: universal succession is the schema of causality
3.
(psychol) a mental model of aspects of the world or of the self that is structured in such a way as to facilitate the processes of cognition and perception
4.
(logic) an expression using metavariables that may be replaced by object language expressions to yield a well-formed formula. Thus A = A is an axiom schema for identity, representing the infinite number of axioms, x = x, y = y, z = z, etc

schema sche·ma (skē’mə)
n. pl. sche·mas or sche·ma·ta (skē-mä’tə, skĭ-māt’ə)

A diagrammatic representation; an outline or a model.

A pattern imposed on complex reality or experience to assist in explaining it, mediate perception, or guide response.

1. database schema.
2. axiom schema.
3. XML schema.