What Does Praxis Mean?

All the Light We Cannot See has so many fabulous vocabulary words in it, I have to share one more. I used an index card as my bookmark, noting all the “new to me” words and looking them up.

If you’re nerdy enough to love words and index cards, join the Wondrous Words Wednesday meme with Kathy at Bermuda Onion. Bloggers share new words they’ve learned or highlight favorites.

Here’s my word for this week: praxis. Do you know it? Before finding it in All the Light, I’d previously heard of it as the name of a test. (Quick Google search reveals… yes! It is a teaching exam for educators. Aha! Did you know I pulled a stint as a middle school teacher of kids with special needs? Whew, what a year.)

Anyway, here’s a quote from the novel:

He comes home from school, kneels on the kitchen floor, and forms airplane after airplane with unswerving, almost frightening devotion, evaluating different wingtips, tails, noses, mostly seeming to love the praxis of it, the transformation of something flat into something that can fly.

praxis \ˈprak-səs\ noun from Medieval Latin, from Greek, doing, action, from prassein to do, practice
1. Action or practice, as practice of an art, science or skill
2. Practical application of a theory

Apparently, a man named Tim Godfrey published an e-book about Internet Marketing called Profit Praxis. Pretty catchy title. Here’s a review on Profit Praxis from Tech Our Way.

Word Nerd Workout

This one is tough to use in a sentence. Here’s my try:

My daughter finally enjoys the praxis of playing her piano pieces and does so without nagging from me.

If you can’t think of a sentence, tell me about a praxis you enjoy (something you like to practice).

wondrous memeDon’t forget to visit Bermuda Onion!

Banned Book Week Giveaway Still Open

If you haven’t already, read my post Five Things You Should Know about Banned Books and leave a comment to enter my giveaway of a Barnes and Nobel gift card. The winner can buy any book he/she wants, even one that’s been banned!  Giveaway closes Friday, October 9.

Thanks for stopping by!

Julia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Julia Tomiak
I believe in the power of words to improve our lives, and I help people find interesting words to read. Member of SCBWI.

6 Comments

  1. The Greek title of the Biblical book of Acts is “Práxeis Apostólōn,” Acts of the Apostles. It is the origin of our word “practice” but not so much in the modern sense of learning to do something by repetition, as is in “practice piano” but simply to do something, as in, “practice medicine.” However, it is used in education to describe that part of education that involves actually doing whatever it is one is training for. It is “practical” instruction.

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