profession
(prəʊˈfɛʃən)
[ME. a. F. profession (12th c. in Hatz.-Darm.), ad. L. professiōn-em a public declaration; a business or profession that one publicly avows, n. of action f. profitērī to profess.]
The action or fact of professing; that which is professed.
I. 1. a. The declaration, promise, or vow made by one entering a religious order; hence, the action of entering such an order; the fact of being professed in a religious order.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 6 Non ancre..ne schal makien professiun, þet is, bihoten ase hest, bute þreo þinges, þet is, obedience, chastete, & studestaþeluestnesse. c 1300 Beket 1407 Ac mi professioun ich habbe to Jesu Crist ido. 1340 Ayenb. 225 Huanne þe beheste is solempne ase be hand of prelat oþer be profession of religion. c 1386 Chaucer Shipman's T. 155 Nay quod this Monk by god and by seint Martyn..This swere I yow on my profession. c 1400 Lansdowne Ritual in Rule St. Benet, etc. 143 Sho sall rede hir professiun..& þe nouyce sal make a crosse on þe buke of hir profession. 1451 J. Capgrave Life St. Gilbert (E.E.T.S.) 72 Of þis same mannes handes took Gilbert þe habite of profession. 1603 Holland Plutarch's Mor. 1288 The searching after such science, is as it were a profession and entrance into religion. 1671 Woodhead St. Teresa i. iv. 13 When I consider the manner of my Profession, and the great resolution and gust wherewith I made it. 1691 Wood Ath. Oxon. I. 181 He was called to Rome to take upon him the profession of the four vows. 1771 Chron. in Ann. Reg. 151/1 Madame Louisa of France took the veil of professions at the convent of the Carmelites. 1797 Mrs. Radcliffe Italian xi, The novice kneeling before him made her profession. 1871 Freeman Norm. Conq. IV. xvii. 89 He had received the second profession of Maurilius, the Primate who still for a short time longer filled the metropolitan throne of Rouen. 1885 Catholic Dict. s.v., A religious or regular profession is ‘a promise freely made and lawfully accepted, whereby a person of the full age required, after the completion of a year of probation, binds him- (or her-) self to a particular religious institute approved by the Church’. |
b. Any solemn declaration, promise, or vow.
| 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. i. 98 Dauid..Dubbede knihtes, Dude hem swere on heor swerd to serue treuþe euere. Þat is þe perte profession þat a-pendeþ to knihtes. [1393 C. ii. 97 Trewely to take and treweliche to fyȝte, Ys þe profession and þe pure ordre þat apendeþ to knyȝtes.] 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) II. 115 Þe bisshop of Meneuia was i-sacred of þe bisshoppes of Wales.., and made non professioun noþe subiection to non oþer chirche. 1494 Fabyan Chron. vii. ccxxviii. 257 Thurston was choshen archebysshop of Yorke; the which withsayd his professyon of obedyence y{supt} he shuld owe to the See of Caunterbury. |
† 2. a. A particular order of monks, nuns, or other professed persons.
Obs.| c 1386 Chaucer Sompn. T. 217 So forth al the gospel may ye seen Wher it be likker oure professioun Or hirs that swymmen in possessioun. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 239 If thou er this Hast ben of such professioun, Discovere thi confessioun. 1451 J. Capgrave Life St. Aug. (E.E.T.S.) 1 A gentill woman desired of me..to translate hir treuly oute of latyn, þe lif of Seynt Augustin, grete doctour of þe cherch. Sche desired þis þing of me rather þan of a-noþer man be-cause þat I am of his profession. |
† b. transf. Christ's profession, the order instituted by Christ; Christianity.
Obs.| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxxiii. (George) 696 George wes þe trewest knycht To crist ymang al þat lyf mycht, Þat vndir knychtly habit kyd Cristis professione had vnhyde. c 1380 Antecrist in Todd Three Treat. Wyclif (1851) 117 Iche man þat liueþ not after þe reule of Cristis professioun. |
† 3. Special character, nature, or kind.
rare—1.
| c 1440 Pallad. on Husb. iii. 64 (E.E.T.S.) And shortte to sai,—se the profession Of every vyne, and wherin thai myscheve As counter it by goode discrecion. |
II. 4. a. The action of declaring, acknowledging, or avowing an opinion, belief, intention, practice, etc.; declaration, avowal. In later use often with implied contrast to practice or fact:
cf. profess v. 3,
professed 2.
| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 9 Eyther by his owne fayth & professyon, or els in the fayth of theyr spirituall parentes. 1565 Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 370 Thai mak plane professioun that the establissing of religioun will nocht content thame. 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 142 Having made profession of my great respect to him. 1662 H. More Philos. Writ. Pref. Gen. (1712) 26 That I may not seem injurious to my self, nor give scandal unto others by this so free profession. 1692 Dryden St. Euremont's Ess. 353 There are Friends of Profession, that take a pride in following our Party at random, and upon all Occasions. 1750 Johnson Rambler No. 1 ¶10 That..some should endeavour to gain favour..by a daring profession of their own deserts. 1796 Burke Regic. Peace i. Wks. VIII. 118 In this unity and indivisibility of profession are sunk ten immense and wealthy provinces. 1817 Jas. Mill Brit. India III. vi. i. 50 Here, too, profession was at variance with fact. 1868 Freeman Norm. Conq. II. viii. 218 Such a man was already a saint in practice, if not in profession. 1871 Browning Balaust. 1442 Nor she, who makes profession of my birth And styles herself my mother, neither she Bore me. |
b. with
a and
pl. An act of professing; a declaration (true or false).
| 1674 Essex Papers (Camden) I. 236 Of all persons, I need make you the least professions. 1740–1 Butler Serm. Ho. Lords 30 Jan., Wks. 1874 II. 256 These false professions of virtue..must have been originally taken up in order to deceive. 1755 Young Centaur iii. Wks. 1757 IV. 173 Greater professions of friendship can no man make, than this arch-promiser: greater proofs of the contrary can no man give. 1782 F. Burney Cecilia v. v, Cecilia..found little difficulty in returning her friendly professions. Mod. I believe his professions of regard to be perfectly sincere. |
5. spec. a. The profession of religion; the declaration of belief in and obedience to religion, or of acceptance of and conformity to the faith and principles of any religious community; hence, the faith or religion which one professes.
| 1526 Tindale Heb. iii. 1 Consyder the embasseatour and hye prest of ourre profession Christ Jesus. 1531 ― Exp. 1 John (1537) 2 To haue thys profession wrytten in thyne harte, is to consente vnto y⊇ law that it is ryghteous. 1548–9 (Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer, Collect 3rd Sunday after Easter, Graunt unto all..that they maye exchew those thinges that be contrary to their profession, and folow all such things as be agreable to the same. 1601 W. Parry Trav. Sir A. Sherley 5 Certaine Persians..Pagans by profession. 16.. Hales Gold. Rem. i. (1673) 36 True profession without honest conversation, not onely saves not, but increases our weight of punishment. 1689 Popple tr. Locke's 1st Let. Toleration L.'s Wks. 1714 II. 243 It is in vain for an Unbeliever to take up the outward shew of another Man's Profession. 1728 Eliza Heywood Mme. de Gomez's Belle A. (1732) II. 15 Several who made profession of the Protestant Religion. 1876 Mozley Univ. Serm. ii. 40 As the standard of goodness rises the standard of profession must rise too. |
b. A religious system, communion, or body.
| 1600 J. Pory tr. Leo's Africa vii. 293 They embrace no religion at all, being neither Christians, Mahumetans, nor Iewes, nor of any other profession. a 1646 J. Gregory Notes & Obs. (1650) 20 Whatsoever the moderne practice is, the ancient must be to bury towards Ierusalem..for all professions buryed towards the place they worshipped. 1839 J. Martineau Stud. Chr. (1858) 131 How think himself safe in a profession, which was without temple, without priest, without altar, without victim? 1904 R. Small Hist. U.P. Congregat. i. 72 At the close of his Arts course, he ‘left his profession’ and joined the Relief. |
III. 6. The occupation which one professes to be skilled in and to follow.
a. A vocation in which a professed knowledge of some department of learning or science is used in its application to the affairs of others or in the practice of an art founded upon it. Applied
spec. to the three learned professions of divinity, law, and medicine; also to the military profession.
| 1541 R. Copland Galyen's Terap. 2 A j b, The parties of the art of Medycyne.. can not be seperated one from the other without the dommage and great detryment of all the medicynall professyon. 1581 G. Pettie Guazzo's Civ. Conv. i. (1586) A v b, Such as I am, (whose profession should chiefelie bee armes). 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. ii. Ded. §8 Amongst so many great foundations of colleges in Europe, I find strange that they are all dedicated to professions, and none left free to Arts and Sciences at large. 1682 Dryden Relig. Laici Pref., Wks. (Globe) 185 Speculations which belong to the profession of Divinity. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 107 They know not what Physicians, Chirurgeons, Apothecaries, and men of that profession are. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 21 ¶1 The three great Professions of Divinity, Law, and Physick. 1727 Gay Begg. Op. i. viii, The Captain looks upon himself in the military capacity as a gentleman by profession. 1788 Gibbon Decl. & F. xliv. (1846) IV. 186 Arms, eloquence, and the study of the civil law, promoted a citizen to the honours of the Roman state; and the three professions were sometimes more conspicuous by their union in the same character. 1839 Maurice Lect. Educ. Mid. Classes 186 Profession in our country..is expressly that kind of business which deals primarily with men as men, and is thus distinguished from a Trade, which provides for the external wants or occasions of men. 1850 Rep. Oxf. Univ. Commission 94 A professorship would then..become a recognised profession. 1870 L. Oliphant Piccadilly ii. 46 The Church..compared with other professions..holds out no inducements for young men of family. 1888 Besant 50 Years Ago xix. 262 New professions have come into existence, and the old professions are more esteemed. It was formerly a poor and beggarly thing to belong to any other than the three learned professions. |
b. In wider sense: Any calling or occupation by which a person habitually earns his living.
Now usually applied to an occupation considered to be socially superior to a trade or handicraft; but formerly, and still in vulgar (or humorous) use, including these.
| 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 386 Why do not you apply your selfe, to some one kinde of profession, or other, wherin there is certaintie and stay of liuing? 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. (1586) 5 b, Princes..delighted with y⊇ profession of husbandry. 1600 J. Pory tr. Leo's Africa App. 364 Their profession is to robbe and steale from their neighbours, and to make them slaues. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. i. i. 5 (Being Mechanicall) you ought not walke Vpon a labouring day, without the signe Of your Profession. Speake, what Trade art thou? 1616 Shirburn Ballads (1907) 71 The Professions of these persons, so vnfortunately drowned, were:—1, a Haberdasher; 2, a Taylor; 3, a Sadler; 4, a Barber; 5, a Waterman. 1665 Boyle Occas. Refl. v. vii, This Gard'ner..inherits..of Adam..that primitive profession that imploy'd and recompenc'd his Innocence. 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. 326/1 A Graver..is also used for many uses about the Plummers Profession. 1733 Gent Rippon 49 Joseph her Spouse, by Profession a Carpenter. 1739 Cibber Apol. (1756) I. 175 The different conduct of these rival actors may be of use to others of the same profession. 1762 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. (1765) I. iv. 62 Another serjeant-painter in this reign was John Brown, who, if he threw no great lustre on his profession, was at least a benefactor to it's professors. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth ii, The forehead of Henry Gow, or Smith, (for..both words equally indicated his profession,) was high and noble. 1828 P. Cunningham N.S. Wales (ed. 3) II. 221 The veteran thief assumes the same sort of lofty port and high-toned consequence over the juniors of the profession, that the veteran warrior..does. 1898 Westm. Gaz. 17 Nov. 7/3 He is doing a very nice trade in the muffin ‘profession’. |
c. By extension:
by profession = professed, professional.
| 1806–7 J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life vii. x, The raillery of some wag by profession. |
d. The body of persons engaged in a calling.
the profession, in theatrical use, actors as a body; public performers generally.
| 1610 Willet Hexapla Dan. 52 To take reuenge of the whole profession, and so to punish one for an others offence. 1678 Butler Hud. iii. iii. 488 Lawyers are too wise a Nation, T' expose their Trade to Disputation:..In which whoever wins the day, The whole Profession's sure to pay. 1700 T. Brown Amusem. Ser. & Com. 67 A Company of the Common Profession in Dishabilie. 1840 Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. III. 30/2 [Specifications] ought at all times..to accompany the drawings, as they at once convey to the profession the minutiæ of the construction. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 25 Nov. 2/1 A heavy tragedian and his leading lady..confronting a provincial landlady. ‘Do you let apartments to—ah—the profession?’ |
e. Applied allusively and
euphem. to
prostitution 1.
| 1888 Kipling In Black & White 78 Lalun is a member of the most ancient profession in the world. 1914 C. Mackenzie Sinister St. iv. ii. 862 There's only Miss Carlyle who's in the profession and comes in sometimes a little late. 1922 A. Woollcott Shouts & Murmurs ii. 57 The Actor and the Streetwalker... The two oldest professions in the world—ruined by amateurs. 1936 Times Lit. Suppl. 18 Apr. 338/4 Blackham has attempted a comprehensive survey of the activities of womankind from ‘the oldest profession’ to the magistracy. |
IV. † 7. The function or office of a professor in a university or college;
= professorship,
professorate; public teaching by a professor.
Obs.| 1580 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 436 There are..in this Islande two famous Vniversities, the one Oxforde, the other Cambridge, both for the profession of al sciences. 1656 Hobbes Six Lessons Wks. 1845 VII. 345 There will need but one house, and the endowment of a few professions. 1708 J. Chamberlayne St. Gt. Brit. ii. iii. x. (1737) 443 There is a new Profession erected in the University of Edinburgh, for the Law of Nature and Nations. 1712 Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) III. 391 His Entrance upon the Profession of the Greek tongue. |
8. Rom. Ant. The public registration of persons and property [literal rendering of L.
professio].
| 1856 Merivale Rom. Emp. (1865) IV. xxxix. 405 The provincial Profession, as it was designated, extended wherever the land tax was exacted. |
9. attrib. and
Comb., as (sense 1)
profession-book,
profession-ring;
profession-making;
profession-like adj.| 14.. Vespasian Ritual in Rule St. Benet, etc. 147 Scho sal..lay hir *profession-boke a-pon þe auter, & þe ryng with-al. 1857 G. Oliver Coll. Cath. Relig. Cornwall 313 From the profession-book of Lambspring Abbey, I learn that he was born at Ramsbury. |
| 1677 Gilpin Demonol. (1867) 97 That under a smoother and *profession-like behaviour, when they are stirred up to persecute, the rigour might seem just. |
| 1654 Owen Doctr. Saints' Persev. Wks. 1853 XI. 600 Such an one may forsake the external profession of Christianity, or cease *profession-making. |
| c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 3217 Þe ladyes..tokon seynt Wultrude *profession-rynge, And abouȝt his nekke þey hongedone hit þo. 1489 Will of Marg. Darcy (Som. Ho.), My profession Ryng. |