Vocationally

Part of speech: adverb

Pronunciation: /və(ʊ)ˈkeɪʃənəli/

Definitions

1. In a manner associated with a particular field or career path
2. In a method connected to a specific occupation or career choice
3. Relating to the practical skills or training linked to a job or trade

Etymology: "Vocationally" is a plain formation: the adjective "vocational" with the adverbial ending "-ly" added, and the adjective itself is built on "vocation." That noun comes through Old French "vocation" from Latin "vocātiōnem," a calling or summons, from "vocāre," to call. Middle English took it up as "vocacioun," and in the sense of a divine call to a religious life, which is where the word's older weight lies. A person with a vocation was once someone summoned, not someone who had picked a career. The modern sense of a trade or working life came later, and "vocational" was formed in English from "vocation" with the suffix "-al," borrowed through French and Latin from "-ālis," meaning "pertaining to." The adjective therefore describes training or education aimed at a particular trade. "Vocationally" then adds the Old English-derived "-ly," which turns an adjective into an adverb of manner, so the word means something done in a way oriented toward job skills.

Synonyms: professionally, occupationally

Antonyms: recreationally