Etymology

art of the possible

Today it means: pragmatism, realism Full definition →

German Kunst des Möglichen
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The story

  1. German · calque ofKunst des Möglichen
  2. English todayart of the possible

Calque of German Kunst des Möglichen, coined by Otto von Bismarck. The possible is here a singular nominalised adjective, meaning “that which is possible”.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.