'apraxic' originates from Modern Latin/Greek medical formation, specifically from Greek 'apraxia' (ἀπραξία), where the prefix 'a-' meant 'without' and 'praxis' meant 'action' or 'practice'.

'apraxic' developed as an adjective from the noun 'apraxia', which entered medical usage in the late 19th century from Greek 'apraxia' and was adapted in English as 'apraxia' and then as the adjective 'apraxic'.

Initially the Greek root conveyed 'without action'; over time the term evolved into a clinical term meaning an inability to perform learned purposeful movements (the modern medical sense reflected in 'apraxic').