profession
pro·fes·sion / prəˈfeshən/ • n. 1. a paid occupation, esp. one that involves prolonged training and a formal qualification: his chosen profession of teaching a lawyer by profession. ∎ [treated as sing. or pl.] a body of people engaged in a particular profession: the profession is divided on the issue.2. an open but often false declaration or claim: a profession of allegiance. ∎ a declaration of belief in a religion. ∎ the declaration or vows made on entering a religious order. ∎ the ceremony or fact of being professed in a religious order.PHRASES: the oldest profession humorous the practice of working as a prostitute.ORIGIN: Middle English (denoting the vow made on entering a religious order): via Old French from Latin professio(n-), from profiteri ‘declare publicly’ (see profess). Sense 1 derives from the notion of an occupation that one “professes” to be skilled in.