Well, the title clearly follows the title of [this][1] question.

Why the objects so successfully defined by Grothendieck have been called "schemes"? In my opinion the original French word (*schéma*) doesn't help, by itself, to understand the motivations behind such a choice of nomenclature...




  [1]: http://mathoverflow.net/questions/24090/what-is-so-spectral-about-spectra