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professional

 
Dictionary: pro·fes·sion·al   (prə-fĕsh'ə-nəl) pronunciation
 
Home > Library > Literature & Language > Dictionary
adj.
    1. Of, relating to, engaged in, or suitable for a profession: lawyers, doctors, and other professional people.
    2. Conforming to the standards of a profession: professional behavior.
  2. Engaging in a given activity as a source of livelihood or as a career: a professional writer.
  3. Performed by persons receiving pay: professional football.
  4. Having or showing great skill; expert: a professional repair job.
n.
  1. A person following a profession, especially a learned profession.
  2. One who earns a living in a given or implied occupation: hired a professional to decorate the house.
  3. A skilled practitioner; an expert.
professionally pro·fes'sion·al·ly adv.
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Thesaurus: professional
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adjective

    Having or demonstrating a high degree of knowledge or skill: adept, crack, expert, master, masterful, masterly, proficient, skilled, skillful. Slang crackerjack. See ability/inability.

noun

    A person with a high degree of knowledge or skill in a particular field: ace, adept, authority, dab hand, expert, master, past master, proficient, wizard. Informal whiz. Slang crackerjack. Chiefly British dab2. See ability/inability.

 
Antonyms: professional
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adj

Definition: skilled, trained
Antonyms: amateur, rookie, unprofessional, unskilled, untrained

n

Definition: person academically prepared for work
Antonyms: amateur, apprentice, greenhorn, rookie

 
Sports Science and Medicine: professional
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1. A person, such as a medical doctor, having an occupation that requires special training.

2. An expert player who gives instruction in a game; for example, golf professional.

3. Applied to any person, such as a professional cricketer, who engages in an activity as his or her means of livelihood, which is generally followed as a pastime.

 
Veterinary Dictionary: professional
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1. pertaining to one's profession or occupation.
2. one whose income is derived from the practice of his/her profession.

 
Word Tutor: professional
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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: Participating for money in an activity that others do for pleasure. Also: Relating to a specialized occupation.

pronunciation Being considerate of others will take you and your children further in life than any college or professional degree. — Marian Wright Edelman

 
Wikipedia: Professional
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This article or section has multiple issues. Please help improve the article or discuss these issues on the talk page.
  • It needs additional references or sources for verification. Tagged since February 2009.
  • It is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. Tagged since February 2009.
  • It reads like a personal reflection or essay. Tagged since February 2009.

A professional is a member of a vocation founded upon specialised educational training.

The word professional traditionally means a person who has obtained a professional (doctoral) level degree. The term professional is used more generally to denote a white collar working person, or a person who performs commercially in a field typically reserved for hobbyists or amateurs.

In western nations, such as the United States, the term commonly describes highly educated, mostly salaried workers, who enjoy considerable work autonomy, economic security, a comfortable salary, and are commonly engaged in creative and intellectually challenging work..[1][2][3][4] Less technically, it may also refer to a person having impressive competence in a particular activity.[5]

Contents

Work

Definition

Main criteria for professional include the following:

  1. Academic qualifications - a doctoral or law degree - i.e., university college/institute.
  2. Expert and specialised knowledge in field which one is practising professionally.[6]
  3. Excellent manual/practical and literary skills in relation to profession.[7]
  4. High quality work in (examples): creations, products, services, presentations, consultancy, primary/other research, administrative, marketing or other work endeavours.
  5. A high standard of professional ethics, behaviour and work activities while carrying out one's profession (as an employee, self-employed person, career, enterprise, business, company, or partnership/associate/colleague, etc).
  6. Reasonable work moral and motivation. Having interest and desire to do a job well as well as holding positive attitude towards the profession are important elements in attaining a high level of professionalism.[8]

In Britain and elsewhere, professionalism is often designated by Royal Charter.

Trades

In narrow usage, not all expertise is considered a profession. Although sometimes referred to as professions, such occupations as skilled construction work are more generally thought of as trades or crafts. The completion of an apprenticeship is generally associated with skilled labor or trades such as carpenter, electrician, plumber, bricklayer and other similar occupations. A related (though not always valid) distinction would be that a professional does mainly mental or administrative work, as opposed to engaging in physical work. Many companies include the word professional in their company name to signify the quality of their workmanship or service.

Sports

Main article: Professional sport

In sports, a professional is someone who participates for money. The opposite is amateur, meaning a person who does not play for money, but in an academic (e.g. college football) or other private setting. The term "professional" is commonly used incorrectly when referring to sports, as the distinction simply refers to how the athlete is funded, and not necessarily competitions or achievements.

Sometimes the professional status of an activity is controversial; for example, there is debate as to whether professionals should be allowed to compete in the Olympic Games. The motivation for money (either in rewards, salaries or advertising revenue) is sometimes seen as a corrupting influence, tainting a sport.

It has been suggested that the crude, all or nothing categories, of professional or amateur should be reconsidered. A historical shift is occurring with the rise of Pro-Ams, a new category of people that are pursuing amateur activities to professional standards.

Professional gaming is another form of professional sport.

See also

Search Wiktionary Look up professional in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

References

  1. ^ Gilbert, D. (1998). The American class structure: In an age of growing inequality. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Press.
  2. ^ Beeghley, L. (2004). The structure of social stratification in the United States. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
  3. ^ Eichar, D. (1989). Occupation and class conciousness in America. Wesport, CT: Greewood Press.
  4. ^ Ehrenreich, B. (1989). Fear of falling: The inner life of the middle class. New York: Harper Prennial.
  5. ^ http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/professional?view=uk
  6. ^ [1]
  7. ^ [2]
  8. ^ [3]

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
Translations: Professional
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Dansk (Danish)
adj. - faglig, professionel
n. - professionel, træner

idioms:

  • professional army    hvervet hær
  • professional foul    ureglementeret spil, som fører til straffespark

Nederlands (Dutch)
professioneel, beroeps-, beroepsmatig, beroepssporter, vakman

Français (French)
adj. - professionnel
n. - professionnel, salarié (dans une petite annonce)

idioms:

  • professional army    armée de métier
  • professional foul    manquement aux règles, (Sport) faute délibérée

Deutsch (German)
n. - Profi, Fachmann
adj. - professionell, Berufs-, Profi-, fachmännisch, beruflich

idioms:

  • professional army    Berufsheer
  • professional foul    (Sport) absichtliches Foul

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - επαγγελματίας, επιτηδευματίας
adj. - επαγγελματικός

idioms:

  • professional army    επαγγελματικός στρατός
  • professional foul    (αθλοπ.) φάουλ απελπισίας, σκόπιμο φάουλ

Italiano (Italian)
professionista, professionale

idioms:

  • professional foul    fallo intenzionale

Português (Portuguese)
n. - profissional
adj. - profissional

idioms:

  • professional foul    falha profissional

Русский (Russian)
профессионал, профессиональный

idioms:

  • professional foul    (футбол) преднамеренное нарушение правил

Español (Spanish)
adj. - profesional, de profesión, de carrera
n. - profesional, de profesión, de carrera

idioms:

  • professional army    ejército profesional
  • professional foul    en fútbol, falta deliberada

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - yrkesman, fackman, akademiskt utbildad, utövare av ngt av de fria yrkena
adj. - yrkes-, fackmässig, akademiskt utbildad, proffs-

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
专业的, 职业的, 专业人才

idioms:

  • professional army    专业的军队, 职业的军队
  • professional foul    职业犯规, 故意犯规

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 專業的, 職業的
n. - 專業人才

idioms:

  • professional army    專業的軍隊, 職業的軍隊
  • professional foul    職業犯規, 故意犯規

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 직업의
n. - 지적 직업인

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 職業人, 専門家, 本職, 玄人, プロ
adj. - 職業の, 職業に従事する, 職業的な, 商売にする

idioms:

  • professional activity    専門職業
  • professional army    職業軍人集団
  • professional foul    故意の反則

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) محترف, منصرف إليه بوصفه موردا للرزق (صفه) مهني, حرفي, احترافي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮מקצועני‬
n. - ‮מקצוען‬

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
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Sports Science and Medicine. The Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science & Medicine. Copyright © Michael Kent 1998, 2006, 2007. All rights reserved.  Read more
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