Vocational
/voʊˈkeɪʃənəl/noun
Relating to an occupation, trade, or practical career training.
Did you know?In medieval Christian usage, a vocation was especially a divine calling to religious life, so choosing a career could once sound like answering God’s voice.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*wekʷ-
“To speak or call; a reconstructed root connected with voice and speech.”
Classical Latin
Latin
vocāre
“To call, summon, or invite.”
Classical Latin
Latin
vocātiō
“A calling, summons, or act of calling.”
Late Latin
Latin
vocātiō
“A calling, increasingly used in Christian contexts for a divine summons or religious calling.”
15th Century
English
vocation
“A calling, especially a divine or religious one; later, one’s occupation.”
18th–19th Century
English
vocational
“Relating to a vocation or occupation, especially practical career training.”