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professed

[pruh-fest]
adjective
  1. avowed; acknowledged.
  2. professing to be qualified; professional, rather than amateur.
  3. having taken the vows of, or been received into, a religious order.
  4. alleged; pretended.
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Origin of professed

1300–50; Middle English (in religious sense) < Medieval Latin profess(us) (special use of Latin professus, past participle of profitērī to declare publicly, equivalent to pro- pro-1 + -fet-, combining form of fatērī to acknowledge + -tus past participle suffix, with tt > ss) + -ed2
Related formshalf-pro·fessed, adjectivenon·pro·fessed, adjectiveself-pro·fessed, adjectiveun·pro·fessed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for self professed

professed

adjective (prenominal)
  1. avowed or acknowledged
  2. alleged or pretended
  3. professing to be qualified asa professed philosopher
  4. having taken vows of a religious order
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Derived Formsprofessedly (prəˈfɛsɪdlɪ), adverb
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

Word Origin and History for self professed

professed

adj.

"openly declared," 1560s, past participle adjective from profess. Earlier in a more specific sense of "having taken vows of a religious order" (late 14c.). Related: Professedly.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper