Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Profession \Pro*fes"sion\, n. [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.

   4. The collective body of persons engaged in a calling; as,
      the profession distrust him.

   5. (Eccl. Law.) The act of entering, or becoming a member of,
      a religious order.

Source : WordNet®

profession
     n 1: the body of people in a learned occupation; "the news spread
          rapidly through the medical community" [syn: {community}]
     2: an occupation requiring special education (especially in the
        liberal arts or sciences)
     3: an open avowal (true or false) of some belief or opinion; "a
        profession of disagreement" [syn: {professing}]
     4: affirmation of acceptance of some religion or faith; "a
        profession of Christianity"