profession
See also: Profession
English
Etymology
From Middle English professioun, from Anglo-Norman professioun, Old French profession (“declaration of faith, religious vows, occupation”), from Latin professiō (“avowal, public declaration”), from the participle stem of profitērī (“to profess”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pɹəˈfɛʃən/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (UK) (file) - Rhymes: -ɛʃən
Noun
profession (plural professions)
- Declaration of faith.
- (religion) A promise or vow made on entering a religious order. [from 12th c.]
- She died only a few years after her profession.
- 1796, Matthew Lewis, The Monk, Folio Society 1985, p. 27:
- Rosario was a young novice belonging to the monastery, who in three months intended to make his profession.
- The declaration of belief in the principles of a religion; hence, one's faith or religion. [from 16th c.]
- 1780, William Cowper, letter, 12 June:
- I congratulate you upon the wisdom that withheld you from entering yourself a member of the Protestant Association […] it is likely to bring an odium upon the profession they make, that will not soon be forgotten.
- 1780, William Cowper, letter, 12 June:
- Any declaration of belief, faith or one's opinion, whether genuine or (as now often implied) pretended. [from 16th c.]
- Despite his continued professions of innocence, the court eventually sentenced him to five years.
- 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], OCLC 21345056, page 126:
- I scarcely know any thing that really interests me, and I would give a great deal not to be so quick-sighted as I am; it would be so pleasant to believe only a tithe of the professions that are made me.
- (religion) A promise or vow made on entering a religious order. [from 12th c.]
- Professional occupation.
- An occupation, trade, craft, or activity in which one has a professed expertise in a particular area; a job, especially one requiring a high level of skill or training. [from 15th c.]
- My father was a barrister by profession.
- 1886, George Bernard Shaw, Cashel Byron’s Profession. A Novel, London: The Modern Press, […], OCLC 903160, page 4:
- “You are very idle, Cashel; I am sure of that. It is too provoking to throw away so much money every year for nothing. Besides, you must soon be thinking of a profession.” “I shall go into the army,” said Cashel. “It is the only profession for a gentleman.”
- (collective) The practitioners of such an occupation collectively. [from 17th c.]
- His conduct is against the established practices of the legal profession.
- An occupation, trade, craft, or activity in which one has a professed expertise in a particular area; a job, especially one requiring a high level of skill or training. [from 15th c.]
Derived terms
- helping profession
- liberal profession
- oldest profession
- professional
- professionless
- pseudoprofession
- semiprofession
- world's oldest profession
Translations
declaration of faith, belief or opinion
|
occupation
|
practitioners of a profession collectively
|
promise or vow made on entering a religious order
|
French
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin prōfessiō (accusative singular prōfessiōnem).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pʁɔ.fɛ.sjɔ̃/, /pʁɔ.fe.sjɔ̃/
Audio (file)
Noun
profession f (plural professions)
- profession, public declaration
- Toute profession d'incrédulité (...) sera poursuivie comme outrage à la religion et scandale pour les mœurs. (Proudhon, Révol. soc., 1852)
- profession, public declaration of faith
- D'une voix altérée, il prononça la profession de foi musulmane, comme pour se prémunir contre une tentation qu'il redoutait sans pouvoir la préciser. (Du Camp, Nil, 1854)
- profession, occupation, trade, craft, activity
- une profession lucrative.
- profession, practitioners of a profession collectively
- Ces décisions s'imposent à toute la profession, elles ne sont exécutoires qu'après approbation par le ministre.
Derived terms
- profession de foi
- professionnalisation
- professionnaliser
- professionnalisme
- professionnellement
- professionnel, professionnelle
Related terms
- professer
- professeur
Further reading
- “profession”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Old French
Alternative forms
- professioun (Anglo-Norman)
- professiun (Anglo-Norman)
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin professio.
Noun
profession f (oblique plural professions, nominative singular profession, nominative plural professions)
- profession; declaration (usually of faith)
References
- Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle (1881) (profession, supplement)