Dictionary    Maps    Thesaurus    Translate    Advanced >   


Tip: Click Thesaurus above for synonyms. Also, follow synonym links within the dictionary to find definitions from other sources.

1. WordNet® 3.0 (2006)
avocation
    n 1: an auxiliary activity [syn: avocation, by-line,
         hobby, pursuit, sideline, spare-time activity]

2. The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Avocation \Av`o*ca"tion\, n. [L. avocatio.]
   1. A calling away; a diversion. [Obs. or Archaic]
      [1913 Webster]

            Impulses to duty, and powerful avocations from sin.
                                                  --South.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. That which calls one away from one's regular employment or
      vocation.
      [1913 Webster]

            Heaven is his vocation, and therefore he counts
            earthly employments avocations.       --Fuller.
      [1913 Webster]

            By the secular cares and avocations which accompany
            marriage the clergy have been furnished with skill
            in common life.                       --Atterbury.
      [1913 Webster]

   Note: In this sense the word is applied to the smaller
         affairs of life, or occasional calls which summon a
         person to leave his ordinary or principal business.
         Avocation (in the singular) for vocation is usually
         avoided by good writers.
         [1913 Webster]

   3. pl. Pursuits; duties; affairs which occupy one's time;
      usual employment; vocation.
      [1913 Webster]

            There are professions, among the men, no more
            favorable to these studies than the common
            avocations of women.                  --Richardson.
      [1913 Webster]

            In a few hours, above thirty thousand men left his
            standard, and returned to their ordinary avocations.
                                                  --Macaulay.
      [1913 Webster]

            An irregularity and instability of purpose, which
            makes them choose the wandering avocations of a
            shepherd, rather than the more fixed pursuits of
            agriculture.                          --Buckle.
      [1913 Webster]

Common Misspellings >
Most Popular Searches: Define Misanthrope, Define Pulchritudinous, Define Happy, Define Veracity, Define Cornucopia, Define Almuerzo, Define Atresic, Define URL, Definitions Of Words, Definition Of Get Up, Definition Of Quid Pro Quo, Definition Of Irreconcilable Differences, Definition Of Word, Synonyms of Repetitive, Synonym Dictionary, Synonym Antonyms. See our main index and map index for more details.

©2011-2024 ZebraWords.com - Define Yourself - The Search for Meanings and Meaning Means I Mean. All content subject to terms and conditions as set out here. Contact Us, peruse our Privacy Policy