avocation

[ av-uh-key-shuhn ]

/ ˌæv əˈkeɪ ʃən /

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noun

something a person does in addition to a principal occupation, especially for pleasure; hobby: Our doctor's avocation is painting.

a person's regular occupation, calling, or vocation.

Archaic. diversion or distraction.

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Origin of avocation

1520–30; <Latin āvocātiōn- (stem of āvocātiō) a calling away. See a-⁴, vocation

OTHER WORDS FROM avocation

av·o·ca·tion·al, adjectiveav·o·ca·tion·al·ly, adverb

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH avocation

1. avocation , vocation2. avocation , evocation

Words nearby avocation

A-V nodal rhythm, A-V node, avo, avocado, avocado toast, avocation, avocet, avodire, Avogadro, Avogadro's constant, Avogadro's law

How to use avocation in a sentence

Daguillard began acquiring sketches, prints and paintings in the 1960s, but the avocation really took hold during a Paris sabbatical.
Fritz Daguillard, immunologist who studied art and Haitian history, dies of covid-19|Terence McArdle|April 2, 2021|Washington Post
He stammered, and read and wrote a lot of poetry (mostly in secret), an avocation he changed to photography for the novel.
Colm Toibin Describes The Creation Of His Quiet Masterpiece ‘Nora Webster’|Jennie Yabroff|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I think it was more a matter of self-consciousness… I always saw writing about music as purely an avocation.
Peter Guralnick: In Love With the Life of Music|Ron Hogan|March 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His former company controller, Gayer, had in the meantime discovered his true avocation.
Accused Soccer-Mom Madam’s Money Launderer|Michael Daly|March 23, 2012|DAILY BEAST

He realized that, for the first time in his life, he had taken up a sound and serious avocation.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
The incongruity of Finucane's avocation, and his manners and appearance, amused his new friend Pen.
A History of Pendennis, Volume 1|William Makepeace Thackeray
Also, Jim discovered that Tuck was an old Yale man and that his avocation in life seemed to be tennis.
Still Jim|Honor Willsie Morrow
The salutary influence which good example propagates, we find stamped on every avocation in life.
Gathering Jewels|James Knowles and Matilda Darroch Knowles
He finally made a home at Teddington, in Middlesex, and devoted himself to the avocation of fruit-growing.
Essays on Modern Novelists|William Lyon Phelps

British Dictionary definitions for avocation

avocation

/ (ˌævəˈkeɪʃən) /

noun

formal a minor occupation undertaken as a diversion

not standard a person's regular job or vocation

Word Origin for avocation

C17: from Latin āvocātiō a calling away, diversion from, from āvocāre to distract, from vocāre to call

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

avocation

noun

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Origin of avocation

OTHER WORDS FROM avocation

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH avocation

Words nearby avocation

Words related to avocation

How to use avocation in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for avocation

noun

Word Origin for avocation