praxis

Etymology

It is partly borrowed from Medieval Latin praxis (“action, practice”), recorded in British sources from the 13th century, and partly directly borrowed from Ancient Greek πρᾶξις (prâxis, “doing, action, practice”), the source of the Latin word.^[2][1] Etymonline, Barnhart, the American Heritage Dictionary and Collins give the route through Medieval Latin.^[3][4][5][6] The Greek noun is formed from the stem of πράσσω (prássō, “to do, act”) with the suffix -σις (-sis),^[2][7][8] the verb that is also the source of practical and practice.^[3][4][8] In classical Latin praxis occurs as a Greek word for an act or deed.^[2] The Marxist sense follows German Praxis, used by A. von Cieszkowski in 1838 and taken up by Karl Marx in 1844.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Action or practice, especially the practice of a technical subject or art as distinct from its theory: before 1586, in Sir Philip Sidney's Apologie for Poetrie (printed 1595).^[2][9] Barnhart dates Sidney's use to 1581,^[4] and Etymonline gives the 1580s for "practice or discipline for a specific purpose".^[3]

Semantic evolution

In Medieval Latin the word was already set against theory, from the mid-13th century.^[3] In English it was used from 1612 for an example or set of examples for practice, especially in grammar.^[2][3][10] From before 1677 it also meant a means of practice or a working model; both uses died out by 1843.^[2] Coleridge contrasted it with theory: "In theory false, and pernicious in praxis".^[10] The 20th century added specialized senses: in Marxist and neo-Marxist thought the conscious action through which theory becomes practical social activity (1933),^[2][10][3] in linguistics speech as an action (1950), and in neurology purposive, skilled movement (1966), the opposite of apraxia.^[2]

Timeline

• before 1586 – action, practice, as opposed to theory, in Sidney.^[2][9]
• 1612 – an example or collection of examples for practice (obsolete by 1843).^[2][3]
• before 1677 – a means of practice; a working model (obsolete by 1843).^[2]
• 1933 – in Marxist thought, action that turns theory into practical social activity.^[2]
• 1950 – in linguistics, speech as an action.^[2]
• 1966 – purposive, skilled movement.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. Practice as opposed to theory; the exercise or practical application of an art, science or skill: The course balances legal theory with praxis.^[9][6][2]
2. Accepted practice; custom or habit.^[9][6][10]
3. A practical exercise.^[6]
4. In Marxism and related thought, the willed action by which a theory becomes practical social activity.^[2][10]
5. (obsolete, 1612–1843) An example or collection of examples for practice, especially in grammar.^[2][10]

Word family

• zoopraxiscope
• parapraxis

Related words

• praxeology
• practice
• practical
• practic
• pragmatic
• apraxia

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
6. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
7. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
9. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press