Practice
/ˈpræktɪs/noun
Repeated exercise to build a skill, the customary way of doing something, or a professional's working business.
The Greek roots
Literally: “the doing kind of knowledge”
The story of the word
Aristotle divided knowledge into θεωρία, contemplation, and πρᾶξις, doing, and ἡ πρακτική was the branch that dealt with action. The word walked into English in the late fourteenth century through medieval Latin practicare and French, carrying all its senses at once. That is why practising the piano, standard practice and a dental practice are the same word: each is simply a matter of things being done.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Medieval Latin → Old French → English
- First recorded
- late 14th century
The same roots elsewhere
Other languages reached for exactly the same Greek pieces.
Same family
In a sentence
Twenty minutes of practice every day beats three hours on Sunday.
It is common practice here, which is not the same as being allowed.