2. To declare friendship. [Obs.] Shak.
PROFESSED
Pro*fessed", a.
Defn: Openly declared, avowed, acknowledged, or claimed; as, a professed foe; a professed tyrant; a professed Christian. The professed (R. C. Ch.) , a certain class among the Jesuits bound by a special vow. See the note under Jesuit.
PROFESSEDLY
Pro*fess"ed*ly, adv.
Defn: By profession.
PROFESSION
Pro*fes"sion, n. Etym: [F., fr. L. professio. See Profess, v.]
1. The act of professing or claiming; open declaration; public avowal or acknowledgment; as, professions of friendship; a profession of faith. A solemn vow, promise, and profession. Bk. of Com. Prayer.
2. That which one professed; a declaration; an avowal; a claim; as, his professions are insincere. The Indians quickly perceive the coincidence or the contradiction between professions and conduct. J. Morse.
3. That of which one professed knowledge; the occupation, if not mechanical, agricultural, or the like, to which one devotes one's self; the business which one professes to understand, and to follow for subsistence; calling; vocation; employment; as, the profession of arms; the profession of a clergyman, lawyer, or physician; the profession of lecturer on chemistry. Hi tried five or six professions in turn. Macaulay.
Note: The three professions, or learned professions, are, especially, theology, law, and medicine.