Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Practical application or exercise of a branch of learning.
  • noun Habitual or established practice; custom.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Use; practice; especially, practice or discipline for a specific purpose, as the acquisition of a specific art.
  • noun An example or a collection of examples for practice; a representative specimen; a model.
  • noun [capitalized] [NL.] In zoology: A genus of lepidopterous insects of the family Noctuidæ, erected for two handsome Australian species.
  • noun A genus of mollusks.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Use; practice; especially, exercise or discipline for a specific purpose or object.
  • noun An example or form of exercise, or a collection of such examples, for practice.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The practical application of any branch of learning.
  • noun philosophy The synthesis of theory and practice, without presuming the primacy of either.
  • noun Custom or established practice.
  • noun An example or form of exercise, or a collection of such examples, for practice.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun translating an idea into action

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Medieval Latin prāxis, from Greek, from prāssein, prāg-, to do.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek πρᾶξις (praksis, "action, activity, practice")

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Examples

  • Praxis - I heard they renamed that program "Pornocopia" report] @praxis you should see the voip stuff that's come out of same - too cool for school report] praxis: what do you mean "was"? report]

    pfblogs.org: The Ad-Free Personal Finance Blogs Aggregator 2008

  • Protestant theology emphasizes Grace over Law — Jewish and Muslim theologies are all about Law; while Catholic theology certainly gives some importance to Grace (hard not to, given the Pauline epistles), its praxis is extremely legalistic (cf. Luther, M.).

    The Volokh Conspiracy » Why Catholics and Jews? 2010

  • The language of allegory relates itself to language not reflexively but rather as an epistemologically uncertain praxis: language relates to itself in the mode of possible unrelatedness.

    Notes on 'Reading, Begging, Paul de Man' 2005

  • The emphasis is more on practice or "praxis" -- spiritual living, self-renunciation, insight or enlightenment -- and among ordinary people, a sort of cult or caretaking of the gods like that practiced by ancient pagans.

    Valerie Tarico: Christian Belief Through The Lens of Cognitive Science, Part 1 of 6 2009

  • You can adopt another term, like praxis, which is one I sometimes use, or invent a newterm.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » Conceptions of Constitutionality — More Thoughts In Reply to Randy: 2009

  • A praxis is a holistic embodiment in action at a particular time of the values and commitments inherent to a particular story.

    YOUR HEAD A SPLODE | Jewschool 2007

  • Although you're not a Romanticist, you are heavily involved in what you have called a praxis or practice of your own.

    Blake & Virtuality: An Exchange 2005

  • That used to be called praxis and is I think at the heart of this new age, and a key and controversial skill so its adoption will not be easy.

    Cognitive Edge 2009

  • In any event, because I'm not intelligent, I have to interrupt moiself here to look up the definition of "praxis"...all these words so love to jam into the Chatelaine's Brain and then when she finally spits them out, she's forgotten what they mean -- so focused is she instead on, on, on... why, yes: CHAMPIONSHIP SOCCER!

    MOI HEART BERKELEY! 2009

  • In any event, because I'm not intelligent, I have to interrupt moiself here to look up the definition of "praxis"...all these words so love to jam into the Chatelaine's Brain and then when she finally spits them out, she's forgotten what they mean -- so focused is she instead on, on, on... why, yes: CHAMPIONSHIP SOCCER!

    Archive 2009-10-01 2009

Comments

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  • Also, a test designed to insult the intelligence of future educators.

    May 4, 2007

  • Indeed, j! (<--from a test-prep book editor)

    May 4, 2007

  • Also in the title of a fairly famous 1936 chess book, "The Praxis of my System", by Aron Nimzowitsch. 1000 points if you can figure out how to pronounce that name.

    May 6, 2007

  • My mind turns off when I hear psychologists use this term. It is also a teaching certification exam. For fun.

    June 28, 2008

  • This word is also popular with verbose and ironically inactive anarchists.

    May 27, 2009

  • Ironically inactive, I like that. Though I think my own inactivity is sincere.

    May 27, 2009

  • It is also the title of a novel by Fay Weldon.

    June 22, 2010