Practise

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈpɹæktɪs/

Definitions

1. To regularly perform an activity in order to improve proficiency ; to carry out or do something as a routine or habit
2. To engage repeatedly in an action to gain skill and competence ; to routinely execute or maintain a particular behavior or procedure
3. To repeatedly take part in an activity for the sake of mastery ; to consistently perform or implement something in a customary fashion

Etymology: The spelling "practise" is the British form of the verb, and it marks a split that happened in English after the word arrived. The verb descends from Middle English "practizen," which came from Middle French "pratiser" and Medieval Latin "practizo." Those in turn go back to Late Latin "practico," meaning to do, perform, execute, or exercise, and ultimately to Ancient Greek "prāssein," "to do." The Greek root carried a sense of getting things done, which is why its derivatives in Greek and Latin came to describe affairs, business, and skilled action. The same Greek family produced "practical" and "practice," which show the word's core idea: action performed in the world rather than theory held in the mind. The verb "to practise" in its modern sense of repeating an activity to improve came later out of that general idea of carrying out a skill. English has long used two spellings for the noun and verb. British usage keeps "practise" for the verb and "practice" for the noun, while American usage spells both with "-ice."

Synonyms: rehearse, train, exercise, drill, prepare

Antonyms: neglect, ignore, abandon, disregard, cease