Etymograph

English

vocation

Vocation comes from Old French vocation ‘call’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *wokʷ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wokʷ-1reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvocō1‘to call, summon, beckon’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvocātiōnem1
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400vocation1‘call’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500vocacioun1
  6. Englishtodayvocation1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English vocation

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wokʷ-Wiktionary, English vocationreconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvocōWiktionary, English vocation‘to call, summon, beckon’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvocātiōnemWiktionary, English vocation
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400vocationWiktionary, English vocation‘call’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500vocaciounWiktionary, English vocation
  6. EnglishtodayvocationWiktionary, English vocation

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *wokʷ-

vocabulary, 25 more

through Latin vocō ‘to call, summon, beckon’

invite, invitation, advocate, vie, provoke, invoke, vouch, provocative, irrevocable, provocateur, revocable, 32 more

Today it means

noun A divine calling to establish one's lifestyle.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “vocation”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wokʷ- / vocation

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