profession

n. [ 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

A solemn vow, promise, and profession. Bk. of Com. Prayer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which one professed; a declaration; an avowal; a claim; as, his professions are insincere. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Indians quickly perceive the coincidence or the contradiction between professions and conduct. J. Morse. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

Hi tried five or six professions in turn. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The three professions, or learned professions, are, especially, theology, law, and medicine. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The collective body of persons engaged in a calling; as, the profession distrust him. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Eccl. Law.) The act of entering, or becoming a member of, a religious order. [ 1913 Webster ]