vocation
a job or profession
TRANSLATION
vocation = der Beruf vocational school = Berufsschule --- GOOGLE INDEX vocation: approximately 35,000,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Many people mistake our work for our VOCATION. Our vocation is the love of Jesus.
(Mother Theresa)
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As many as four VOCATIONAL schools will be opened by September 2009 to serve as models for the rest of the city.
(New York Times)
(Mother Theresa)
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As many as four VOCATIONAL schools will be opened by September 2009 to serve as models for the rest of the city.
(New York Times)
Did you
know?
vocation
noun
- a trade or profession
- a strong feeling of suitability for a particular career or occupation
vocational
adjective
(Oxford English Dictionary)
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Vocation is from the Latin "vocatio" (literally a calling) and from vocatus (called), the present participle of "vocare" to call (as in voice) by way of the Middle English "vocacioun," meaning a divine call to a religious life, The sense of one's occupation or profession was first recorded in the mid 16th century.
Vocation generally refers to one's occupation, regardless of how one trained or studied to become qualified. It is often used to express an occupation that a person feels strongly about and one in which the job is more than just a way to earn an living. Many physicians see their profession as vocations for instance.
In an interesting twist however, when used as an adjective in conjunction with a school, it refers to a training institute that focuses on specific trades that usually involve hands-on work. This includes vocations such as electrician, mechanic, metal worker or even office-type occupations such as medical and dental assistant or computer specialist. Vocational schools are different from colleges and universities where the focus is academic. In theology, vocation is used in the sense of a calling by the will of God or a call to special religious work such as the ministry.
Warning:
Vocation is easily transformed into a completely different word by mistakenly replacing one letter. Replacing the "o" with an "a" turns it into vacation, the US English equivalent of holiday. Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt once exploited this potential mistake when she said, "It is not more vacation we need - it is more vocation."
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SYNONYMS
calling, career, employment, job, life's work, occupation, profession, pursuit, trade
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"I wanted to pursue a medical vocation from the time I was very young."
---
Thanks to Stephan for suggesting today's word!
noun
- a trade or profession
- a strong feeling of suitability for a particular career or occupation
vocational
adjective
(Oxford English Dictionary)
---
Vocation is from the Latin "vocatio" (literally a calling) and from vocatus (called), the present participle of "vocare" to call (as in voice) by way of the Middle English "vocacioun," meaning a divine call to a religious life, The sense of one's occupation or profession was first recorded in the mid 16th century.
Vocation generally refers to one's occupation, regardless of how one trained or studied to become qualified. It is often used to express an occupation that a person feels strongly about and one in which the job is more than just a way to earn an living. Many physicians see their profession as vocations for instance.
In an interesting twist however, when used as an adjective in conjunction with a school, it refers to a training institute that focuses on specific trades that usually involve hands-on work. This includes vocations such as electrician, mechanic, metal worker or even office-type occupations such as medical and dental assistant or computer specialist. Vocational schools are different from colleges and universities where the focus is academic. In theology, vocation is used in the sense of a calling by the will of God or a call to special religious work such as the ministry.
Warning:
Vocation is easily transformed into a completely different word by mistakenly replacing one letter. Replacing the "o" with an "a" turns it into vacation, the US English equivalent of holiday. Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt once exploited this potential mistake when she said, "It is not more vacation we need - it is more vocation."
---
SYNONYMS
calling, career, employment, job, life's work, occupation, profession, pursuit, trade
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"I wanted to pursue a medical vocation from the time I was very young."
---
Thanks to Stephan for suggesting today's word!
