Avocations

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Activities or pursuits engaged in alongside a primary vocation
2. Interests or hobbies practiced outside of one's main professional responsibilities
3. Secondary occupations or pastimes that provide enjoyment or fulfillment apart from one’s main job

Etymology: "Avocations" is the plural of "avocation," which came into English from Latin "āvocātiō," meaning a distraction. That Latin noun was built from "āvocō," "to call off" or "to distract," made of "ā" (away) and "vocō" (to call). The core image is of being called away from something. The sense that matters here is the original one. For a long time the English word carried that Latin meaning of diversion or distraction, pulling a person away from their proper work. The modern meaning, a pursuit taken up in one's spare time, grew out of that idea: the pastime is what claims your attention once the real job is set aside.

Synonyms: hobbies, pastimes

Antonyms: vocations, professions