1. certificates of health given to ships entering port, indicating freedom from contagious disease
Usage: nautical; plural form

Examples

• The ship’s captain presented the pratiques to the port authorities.
• Without proper pratiques, the vessel was quarantined at the harbor.
• The health officials issued clean pratiques after inspecting the crew.
• Maritime law requires pratiques before passengers can disembark.
• The pratiques confirmed that no infectious diseases were aboard the ship.