machinate

verb

Etymology: First attested in 1537; borrowed from Latin machinātus, perfect active participle of machinor (“to invent, devise; to scheme, plot”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from māchina (“machine, contrivance, device, scheme”), an early borrowing from Ancient Greek. See also machine.

1. To devise a plot or secret plan; to conspire.

   “Had she already managed to machinate a cushy job for her husband?”