vo·ca·tion

[voh-key-shuhn]
noun
1.
a particular occupation, business, or profession; calling.
2.
a strong impulse or inclination to follow a particular activity or career.
3.
a divine call to God's service or to the Christian life.
4.
a function or station in life to which one is called by God: the religious vocation; the vocation of marriage.

Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English vocacio(u)n < Latin vocātiōn- (stem of vocātiō) a call, summons, equivalent to vocāt(us) past participle of vocāre to call (see -ate1) + -iōn- -ion

1. avocation, vocation ; 2. vacation, vocation.


1. employment, pursuit.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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00:10
vocation is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
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World English Dictionary
vocation (vəʊˈkeɪʃən) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  a specified occupation, profession, or trade
2.  a.  a special urge, inclination, or predisposition to a particular calling or career, esp a religious one
 b.  such a calling or career
 
[C15: from Latin vocātiō a calling, from vocāre to call]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

vocation
early 15c., "spiritual calling," from L. vocationem (nom. vocatio), lit. "a calling," from vocatus "called," pp. of vocare "to call" (see voice). Sense of "one's occupation or profession" is first attested 1550s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Although he could not have known it at the time, he had found his life's
  vocation.
They have a calling, a vocation, to explore and transmit and encourage the
  development of knowledge.
Abbey held that his main vocation was as iconoclastic litterateur defending
  natural wilderness and freedom.
Because ultimately, salary is merely a measure of the worth society places on a
  given vocation.
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