Vocation

How to spell vocation

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce vocation

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does vocation mean?

1. nounA type of work or way of life that a person feels especially suited to and drawn towards.
2. nounA divine call to a particular form of religious life or service.

Vocation in a sentence

• Teaching was her true vocation, not just a way to earn a living.

• She felt a clear vocation to enter the convent.

• He left a lucrative banking job to follow his vocation as a carpenter.

• The young man discerned his vocation to the priesthood after years of prayer.

Where does vocation come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin vocatio, which literally meant 'a calling' or 'a summons', and was built on the verb vocare, 'to call'. In medieval Christian use the noun took on a special religious flavour: a vocation was a divine call to a particular way of life, such as the priesthood or a religious order. English borrowed it through Old French in the fifteenth century, and over time the sense broadened from a spiritual summons to any career or occupation that a person feels strongly drawn to. The same vocare root still echoes through everyday relatives like 'voice', 'vocal', 'advocate' and 'vocabulary', all of which involve calling or speaking. Keeping that 'call' idea in mind helps with the spelling, since vocation begins with voc, exactly like 'vocal', and should not be muddled with 'vacation'.

How the word is built

• voc (from vocare: to call)
• -ation (noun-forming suffix)