practicum

English

WOTD – 17 May 2009

Etymology

Borrowed from German Praktikum, a coinage from the neuter of Late Latin practicus (“practical”), from Ancient Greek πρακτικός (praktikós, “of or pertaining to action, concerned with action or business, active, practical”), from πράσσω (prássō, “to do”).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈpɹæk.tɪ.kəm/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (Australia):

  (file)

Noun

practicum (plural practicums or practica)

1. (US) A college course designed to give a student supervised practical knowledge of a subject previously studied theoretically.
   • 1984 April 21, Joyce Baker, “Eromin Center Closing: A Tragic Loss”, in Gay Community News, page 5:

     Eromin has provided clinical practicum placements for students seeking advanced degrees in social service professions.

2. (US) A science exam in which students are questioned about specimens or other objects placed in front of them.

Synonyms

• (college course): work placement (British), field

Derived terms

• practicumer

Translations

college course — see also praxis

• Bulgarian: учебна практика f (učebna praktika)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 實習課 / 实习课 (shíxíkè), 實習課程 / 实习课程 (shíxíkèchéng)

• Czech: praxe (cs) f
• Dutch: practicum (nl) n
• Finnish: harjoituskurssi
• French: travaux pratiques (fr) m pl
• German: Praktikum (de) n
• Greek: πρακτική (el) f (praktikí)
• Indonesian: praktikum (id)
• Macedonian: пракса f (praksa)
• Polish: praktyka studencka f, praktyka (pl) f
• Portuguese: estágio supervisionado m
• Russian: практи́ческие заня́тия n pl (praktíčeskije zanjátija), лаборато́рные заня́тия n pl (laboratórnyje zanjátija), практикум (ru) m (praktikum)
• Scottish Gaelic: greis gnìomhachais f
• Spanish: práctica (es) f, prácticas (es) f pl

science exam

• Bulgarian: практически изпит m (praktičeski izpit)

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from German Praktikum, a coinage from the neuter of Late Latin practicus (“practical”), from Ancient Greek πρακτικός (praktikós, “of or pertaining to action, concerned with action or business, active, practical”), from πράσσω (prássō, “to do”).

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

practicum n (plural practica, diminutive practicumpje n)

1. practicum (college course)

Descendants

• → Indonesian: praktikum

Further reading

• “practicum” in Woordenlijst Nederlandse Taal – Officiële Spelling, Nederlandse Taalunie. [the official spelling word list for the Dutch language]

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈpraːk.tɪ.kũː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈprak.ti.kum]

Adjective

prācticum

1. inflection of prācticus:
   1. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter singular
   2. accusative masculine singular