pragmatic

• POS: Adjective
• HYPHEN: prag=mat=ic

CIDE DICTIONARY

pragmatic, a. [L. pragmaticus busy, active, skilled in business, especially in law and state affairs, systematic, Gr. , fr. a thing done, business, fr. to do: cf. F. pragmatique. See Practical.].

•  Of or pertaining to business or to affairs; of the nature of business; practical; material; businesslike in habit or manner.  [1913 Webster]

  "The next day . . . I began to be very pragmatical."  [1913 Webster]

  "We can not always be contemplative, diligent, or pragmatical, abroad; but have need of some delightful intermissions."  [1913 Webster]

  "Low, pragmatical, earthly views of the gospel."  [1913 Webster]
•  Busy; specifically, busy in an objectionable way; officious; fussy and positive; meddlesome.  Sir W. Scott.  [1913 Webster]

  "The fellow grew so pragmatical that he took upon him the government of my whole family."  [1913 Webster]
•  Philosophical; dealing with causes, reasons, and effects, rather than with details and circumstances; -- said of literature.  [1913 Webster]

Pragmatic sanction, a solemn ordinance or decree issued by the head or legislature of a state upon weighty matters; -- a term derived from the Byzantine empire. In European history, two decrees under this name are particularly celebrated. One of these, issued by Charles VII. of France, A. D. 1438, was the foundation of the liberties of the Gallican church; the other, issued by Charles VI. of Germany, A. D. 1724, settled his hereditary dominions on his eldest daughter, the Archduchess Maria Theresa.

pragmatic, n. 

•  One skilled in affairs.  [1913 Webster]

  "My attorney and solicitor too; a fine pragmatic."  [1913 Webster]
•  A solemn public ordinance or decree.  [1913 Webster]

  "A royal pragmatic was accordingly passed."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

pragmatic, adj.
1 dealing with matters with regard to their practical requirements or consequences.
2 treating the facts of history with reference to their practical lessons.
3 hist. of or relating to the affairs of a State.
4 (also pragmatical) a concerning pragmatism. b meddlesome. c dogmatic.

Idiom

pragmatic sanction hist. an imperial or royal ordinance issued as a fundamental law, esp. regarding a question of royal succession.

Derivative

pragmaticality n. pragmatically adv.

Etymology

LL pragmaticus f. Gk pragmatikos f. pragma -matos deed

THESAURUS

pragmatic

Cyrenaic, Eleatic, Epicurean, Megarian, Stoic, advantageous, animist, animistic, appropriate, atomistic, balanced, banausic, beneficial, commodious, commonsense, cool, coolheaded, cosmotheistic, down-to-earth, earthy, eclectic, effective, effectual, efficient, empirical, employable, eudaemonistic, existential, expedient, feasible, fitting, functional, good for, hard, hard-boiled, hardheaded, hedonic, hedonist, hedonistic, helpful, humanist, humanistic, idealistic, instrumentalist, levelheaded, logical, materialistic, matter-of-fact, mechanistic, metaphysical, monistic, naturalistic, nominalist, of general utility, of help, of service, of use, operable, panlogistical, pantheistic, philosophical, positivist, positivistic, practicable, practical, practical-minded, pragmatical, pragmatist, proper, rational, rationalistic, realist, realistic, realizable, reasonable, sane, scholastic, scientific, scientistic, secular, sensationalistic, sensible, serviceable, sober, sober-minded, sound, sound-thinking, straight-thinking, syncretistic, theistic, transcendentalist, transcendentalistic, unideal, unidealistic, unromantic, unsentimental, useful, utilitarian, vitalistic, voluntarist, voluntaristic, well-balanced, workable, worldly