Meaning

noun an imperial decree that becomes part of the fundamental law of the land

adjective concerned with practical matters

adjective of or concerning the theory of pragmatism

originFrom Middle French pragmatique, from Late Latin pragmaticus (“relating to civil affair; in Latin, as a noun, a person versed in the law who furnished arguments and points to advocates and orators, a kind of attorney”), from Ancient Greek πραγματικός (pragmatikós, “active, versed in affairs”), from πρᾶγμα (prâgma, “a thing done, a fact”), in plural πράγματα (prágmata, “affairs, state affairs,…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0