Etymograph

English

practicum

Practicum comes from German Praktikum ‘a practical course as opposed to a theoretical…’, from Ancient Greek πρᾱ́σσω ‘to do’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘to go over, cross’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-1‘to go over, cross’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pr̥h₂-k-yé-ti1reconstructed*k-enlargement of *per-
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπρᾱ́σσω2prā́ssō‘to do’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπρακτικός3praktikós‘of or pertaining to action, concerned with action or business, active, practical’root of πρᾱ́σσω
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEpracticus3‘practical’
  6. Germanc. 1650–presentPraktikum3‘a practical course as opposed to a theoretical one, work placement, practicum’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1984practicum3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πράσσω
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πρακτικός
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English practicum
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1984, Joyce Baker, Eromin Center Closing: A Tragic Loss: “Eromin has provided clinical practicum placements for students seeking…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πράσσω‘to go over, cross’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pr̥h₂-k-yé-tiWiktionary, Ancient Greek πράσσωreconstructed*k-enlargement of *per-
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπρᾱ́σσωWiktionary, Ancient Greek πρακτικόςprā́ssō‘to do’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπρακτικόςWiktionary, English practicumpraktikós‘of or pertaining to action, concerned with action or business, active, practical’root of πρᾱ́σσω
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEpracticusWiktionary, English practicum‘practical’
  6. Germanc. 1650–presentPraktikumWiktionary, English practicum‘a practical course as opposed to a theoretical one, work placement, practicum’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1984practicumWiktionary, English practicum. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1984, Joyce Baker, Eromin Center Closing: A Tragic Loss: “Eromin has provided clinical practicum placements for students seeking…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘to go over, cross’

first, before, support, far, per, report, further, private, press, fear, opportunity, price, port, pre, primary, prior, prime, appreciate, afford, ford, forth, pregnant, prize, precious, par, privilege, ferry, interpretation, parade, praise, fare, porch, pardon, pirate, prix, primitive, peril, interpreter, afar, pore, 152 more

through Proto-Indo-European *pr̥h₂-k-yé-ti

barter, pragmatic, 10 more

through Ancient Greek πρᾱ́σσω ‘to do’

praxis, pragmatist, 7 more

Today it means

noun A college course designed to give a student supervised practical knowledge of a subject previously studied theoretically.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “practicum”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek πράσσω, Ancient Greek πρακτικός. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *per- / practicum

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