Question

History of Professions
The etymologic roots of the word profession have left their mark on all of its derivatives.
Its original Latin meaning was “to profess,” which signified one’s willingness to make a
public declaration of something that was important—and what usually was important was
religion. For example, Webster’s Third New International Dictionary first defined profess as
the public act of taking religious vows. From that focused starting point, its meaning
expanded to include open declarations of belief that are nonreligious. And for our purposes,
“profession” also includes callings that require intensive preparation and high standards of
achievement and that render a public service. Finally, however, its meaning has softened to
include the less restrictive usage that many people give the term today: “a principal calling,
vocation, or employment.
In the 16th century, the term profession was used for the first time to denote the special
occupations of medicine, law, the divinity, and (sometimes) the military. These were the so-
called learned professions. However, much of the population used the term to refer to
everything from barbering to blacksmithing. Thus, in at least one respect, not much has
changed in the past four centuries. Nevertheless, over the years the restricted concept of
profession has been the focus of a considerable body of literature that has attempted to
define and characterize what professions are and how professionals ought to function.

1. What does profess means in Latin?
2. How does the Webster´s Third New International Dictionary defined
profession?
3. How the term profession was used in the 16 th century?
4. Make a list of ten different professions.
NO ES TRADUCIR ES RES PON DER AYUDA¡¡

Answer 1

Respuesta:

1. to profess

2. as the public act of taking religious vows

3. was used for the first time to denote the special

occupations of medicine, law, the divinity, and (sometimes) the military.

4. Architect

Astronomer

Carpenter

Dentist

Firefighter

Judge

Baker

Accountant

Pilot

Police