Word of the Day

: April 4, 2024

praxis

noun PRAK-sis

What It Means

Praxis is a formal word referring to the practical application of a theory—in other words, what one does to act on a theory (such as feminist theory) to which one is committed. Praxis is also used synonymously with action or practice to refer to the exercise of an art, science, or skill, or to customary conduct within a given sphere.

// Many gardeners promote composting as being good environmental praxis.

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praxis in Context

“A disturbing trend that does not get enough attention is the continued practice of taking work, ideas, and creative genius from Black women without properly crediting or citing them as the source. … In 2017, Dr. Christen A. Smith created the Cite Black Women campaign as a way to highlight this issue and ‘push people to engage in a radical praxis of citation that acknowledges and honors Black women’s transnational intellectual production.’” — Janice Gassam Asare, Forbes, 8 Oct. 2021

Did You Know?

We all know that praxis makes perfect, right? Oh wait, it’s practice, not praxis, that makes perfect! Worry not about confusing the two: as part of our educational praxis (how we act on our belief in the importance of providing information about language), we’ll sort them out here. Both praxis and practice come ultimately from the Greek verb prassein (“to do” or “to practice”), and both can refer to a habit or custom—that is, a usual way of doing something or of conducting oneself. Praxis, however, is more at home in formal, and often academic, writing; a sentence like “it is my praxis to eat breakfast cereal every morning” might make sense, but it’s not idiomatic. Praxis also has two meanings that are more specific; it can refer to the practice of an art, science, or skill, and it can also refer to the practical application of a theory, as in “democratic praxis” or “revolutionary praxis.”