vocation

C2+ Topic:Work & Careers

US /voʊˈkeɪʃən/ UK /vəˈkeɪʃən/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a strong sense of suitability for a particular career or calling

She felt nursing was less a job than a true vocation.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a strong sense of... calling career profession occupation mission trade métier pursuit

Opposites

avocation hobby pastime

Word family

Derived forms vocationalvocationally

Related forms vocativevoice invokeconvocation

Simplified etymology

Vocation dates from late Middle English and is related to voice, which derives from Latin vox, “voice.”

Etymology

From Latin vocationem ('a calling, summons'), from vocare ('to call'), from vox ('voice'); originally a calling by God to a religious life.

vocationem Latin vocare Latin vox Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Work & Careers Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# vocation

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /voʊˈkeɪʃən/
**IPA (UK):** /vəˈkeɪʃən/

## Meanings
1. a strong sense of suitability for a particular career or calling

## Examples
- She felt nursing was less a job than a true vocation.

## Synonyms
- calling
- career
- profession
- occupation
- mission
- trade
- métier
- pursuit

## Antonyms
- avocation
- hobby
- pastime

## Derived Forms
- vocational
- vocationally

## Related Forms
- vocative
- voice
- invoke
- convocation

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: vocationem
- Root: vocare
- Root: vox

## Etymology
From Latin vocationem ('a calling, summons'), from vocare ('to call'), from vox ('voice'); originally a calling by God to a religious life.

## AI Etymology
Vocation comes from Latin vocationem ('a calling, summons'), from vocare ('to call'), from vox ('voice'); originally a calling by God to a religious life. The historical chain includes Latin vocationem, Latin vocare, and Latin vox. The quoted older senses, "a calling, summons", "to call", and "voice", supply the semantic anchors for vocation. The formation is best read as borrowed: the word vocation carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a noun, "a strong sense of suitability for a particular career or calling". English derivatives include vocational and vocationally; related English forms include vocative, voice, invoke, and convocation. The result is a noun whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- Work & Careers
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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