professed

[pruh-fest]

adjective

avowed; acknowledged.

professing to be qualified; professional, rather than amateur.

having taken the vows of, or been received into, a religious order.

alleged; pretended.

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. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for self professed

professed

adjective (prenominal)

avowed or acknowledged

alleged or pretended

professing to be qualified asa professed philosopher

having taken vows of a religious order

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.