PROFESSION
profession
(noun) an occupation requiring special education (especially in the liberal arts or sciences)
profession
(noun) affirmation of acceptance of some religion or faith; “a profession of Christianity”
profession, professing
(noun) an open avowal (true or false) of some belief or opinion; “a profession of disagreement”
profession
(noun) the body of people in a learned occupation; “the news spread rapidly through the medical profession”; “they formed a community of scientists”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
profession (plural professions)
A declaration of belief, faith or one's opinion, whether genuine or pretended.
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.
The practitioners of such an occupation collectively.
A promise or vow made on entering a religious order.
Source: Wiktionary
Pro*fes"sion, n. Etym: [F., fr. L. professio. See Profess, v.]
1. The act of professing or claiming; open declaration; public avowal
or acknowledgment; as, professions of friendship; a profession of
faith.
A solemn vow, promise, and profession. Bk. of Com. Prayer.
2. That which one professed; a declaration; an avowal; a claim; as,
his professions are insincere.
The Indians quickly perceive the coincidence or the contradiction
between professions and conduct. J. Morse.
3. That of which one professed knowledge; the occupation, if not
mechanical, agricultural, or the like, to which one devotes one's
self; the business which one professes to understand, and to follow
for subsistence; calling; vocation; employment; as, the profession of
arms; the profession of a clergyman, lawyer, or physician; the
profession of lecturer on chemistry.
Hi tried five or six professions in turn. Macaulay.
Note: The three professions, or learned professions, are, especially,
theology, law, and medicine.
4. The collective body of persons engaged in a calling; as, the
profession distrust him.
5. (Eccl. Law.)
Definition: The act of entering, or becoming a member of, a religious
order.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition