pragmato-, pragmat- (Greek > Latin: current meaning is "practical").It started in Greek with the meanings: "to do, act, perform"; then it meant "civil business, deed, act"; and into Latin as, "skilled in business or law". The meaning concerned with "practical results or values" is first recorded in the form pragmatical (1597) and later as pragmatic in 1853. The form, "pragmatism", is a philosophy that stresses practical results. |