professional

English

Etymology

From Middle English professhennalle, professhynalle; equivalent to profession +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɹəˈfɛʃənəl/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

professional (plural professionals)

1. A person who belongs to a profession.
2. A person who earns their living from a specified activity.
   • 2024 September 4, Vitali Vitaliev, “A salute to Ukraine's 'Second Army'”, in RAIL, number 1017, page 49:

     My son, a Canada-based IT professional who often travels to Ukraine, told me about the exhilarating atmosphere on those Ukraine-bound trains, bringing home hundreds of the unwilling refugees, mostly women and children (including the babies, born in exile on the way to meet their Ukrainian fighter fathers for the first time). The difference between Ukrainian refugees and other reluctant exiles is that Ukrainians are desperate to return.

3. (euphemistic) A prostitute.

   There was this nice lady who flirted with me at the bar, but it turned out that she was a professional.

4. A reputation known by name.
5. An expert.
   • 1934, Rex Stout, Fer-de-Lance, Bantam, published 1992, →ISBN, page 97:

     I have learned that there is a person attached to a golf club called a professional. Find out who fills that post at the Green Meadow Club; […] invite the professional, urgently, to dine with us this evening.

6. One of four categories of sociologist propounded by Horowitz: a sociologist who is actively concerned with promoting the profession of sociology.

Derived terms

• certified safety professional
• non-professional, nonprofessional
• pseudo-professional, pseudoprofessional
• semi-professional, semiprofessional
• super professional, super-professional, superprofessional

 

Translations

person who belongs to a profession

• Armenian: մասնագետ (hy) (masnaget)
• Azerbaijani: peşəkar, professional (az)
• Bulgarian: професионалист m (profesionalist)
• Catalan: professional (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 專業人士／专业人士 (zhuānyè rénshì)

• Dutch: beroeps (nl), professional (nl) m
• Esperanto: isto (eo)
• Finnish: ammattilainen (fi)
• Galician: profesional (gl) m or f
• Greek: επαγγελματίας (el) m or f (epangelmatías)
• Hungarian: szakember (hu), szaki (hu)
• Irish: gairmí m
• Italian: professionista (it)
• Japanese: プロフェッショナル (ja) (purofesshonaru), プロ (ja) (puro)
• Kyrgyz: кесипкөй (kesipköy)
• Malay: profesional
• Maori: mātanga, tūngaio, pūngaio
• Mongolian: мэргэжилтэн (mn) (mergežilten), мэргэжлийн хүн (mergežliin xün)
• Portuguese: profissional (pt) m or f
• Romanian: profesionist (ro) m
• Russian: профессиона́л (ru) m (professionál), профессиона́лка (ru) f (professionálka)
• Slovak: odborník (sk) m, odborníčka (sk) f, profesionál m, profesionálka f
• Spanish: profesional (es) m or f, profesionista m or f (Mexico)
• Tagalog: manunungkulan, propesyonál

person who earns their living from a specified activity

• Arabic: مُحْتَرِف m (muḥtarif), مُحْتَرِفَة f (muḥtarifa)

  Egyptian Arabic: محترف m (muḥtaref), محترفة f (muḥtarefa)

• Armenian: մասնագետ (hy) (masnaget)
• Azerbaijani: peşəkar
• Catalan: professional (ca) m or f
• Czech: profesionál (cs) m
• Dutch: beroeps (nl), professional (nl) m
• Finnish: ammattilainen (fi), ammattimies (fi)
• German: Profi (de) m, Professioneller m, Professionelle f
• Greek: επαγγελματίας (el) m or f (epangelmatías)
• Hungarian: profi (hu)
• Polish: zawodowiec (pl) m, profesjonalista (pl) m
• Portuguese: profissional (pt) m or f
• Russian: профессиона́л (ru) m (professionál), профессиона́лка (ru) f (professionálka)
• Slovak: profesionál m, profesionálka f, odborník (sk) m, odborníčka (sk) f
• Spanish: profesional (es) m or f, profesionista m or f (Mexico)
• Swedish: proffs (sv) n
• Thai: มืออาชีพ (mʉʉ-aa-chîip)

expert

• Armenian: մասնագետ (hy) (masnaget)
• Azerbaijani: peşəkar
• Bulgarian: специалист (bg) m (specialist)
• Catalan: professional (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 專家／专家 (zh) (zhuānjiā)

• Czech: profesionál (cs) m
• Dutch: deskundige (nl), expert (nl) m
• Finnish: ammattilainen (fi), ekspertti (fi), asiantuntija (fi)
• French: professionnel (fr) m, professionnelle (fr) f
• German: Profi (de) m
• Greek: επαγγελματίας (el) m or f (epangelmatías), επιτηδευματίας (el) m or f (epitidevmatías)
• Hungarian: profi (hu), szakértő (hu), szakember (hu), szaki (hu)
• Japanese: プロフェッショナル (ja) (purofesshonaru), プロ (ja) (puro), 専門家 (ja) (せんもんか, senmonka)
• Kyrgyz: кесипкөй (kesipköy)
• Maori: pūngaio, pūkenga, mātanga
• Mongolian: мэргэжилтэн (mn) (mergežilten)
• Polish: profesjonalista (pl) m, zawodowiec (pl) m
• Portuguese: profissional (pt) m or f
• Russian: профессиона́л (ru) m (professionál), профессиона́лка (ru) f (professionálka), специали́ст (ru) m (specialíst), специали́стка (ru) f (specialístka), экспе́рт (ru) m (ekspért)
• Slovak: odborník (sk) m, odborníčka (sk) f
• Swedish: proffs (sv) n, expert (sv) c

Adjective

professional (comparative more professional, superlative most professional)

1. Of, pertaining to, or in accordance with the (usually high) standards of a profession.
   • 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter II, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

     His forefathers had been, as a rule, professional men—physicians and lawyers; his grandfather died under the walls of Chapultepec Castle while twisting a tourniquet for a cursing dragoon; an uncle remained indefinitely at Malvern Hill; […].

   • 2019 March 18, Steven Pifer, Five years after Crimea’s illegal annexation, the issue is no closer to resolution‎^[1], The Center for International Security and Cooperation:

     The little green men were clearly professional soldiers by their bearing, carried Russian weapons, and wore Russian combat fatigues, but they had no identifying insignia. Vladimir Putin originally denied they were Russian soldiers; that April, he confirmed they were.

2. That is carried out for money, especially as a livelihood.
3. (by extension) Expert.

Derived terms

• legal professional privilege
• non-professional, nonprofessional
• professional class
• professional deformation
• professional engineer
• professional foul
• professionalism
• professional politician
• professional rescuers doctrine
• professional secrecy
• professional sport
• professional student
• professional suicide
• professional support lawyer
• professional university
• professional victim
• professional wrestler
• professional wrestling
• pseudo-professional, pseudoprofessional
• semi-professional, semiprofessional
• ultraprofessional
• unprofessional

 

Translations

of, pertaining to, or in accordance with the standards of a profession

• Armenian: մասնագիտական (hy) (masnagitakan)
• Azerbaijani: peşəkar
• Belarusian: прафесіянальны (prafjesijanalʹny)
• Bulgarian: професионален (bg) (profesionalen)
• Catalan: professional (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 專業／专业 (zh) (zhuānyè)

• Czech: profesionální (cs) m
• Danish: professionel
• Dutch: beroeps-, professioneel (nl)
• Esperanto: profesia
• Finnish: ammattimainen (fi), ammatillinen (fi)
• French: professionnel (fr)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: professionell (de), Berufs- (de)
• Greek: επαγγελματικός (el) (epangelmatikós)
• Hungarian: szakmai (hu), professzionális (hu), profi (hu), szakszerű (hu), hozzáértő (hu)
• Irish: gairmiúil
• Italian: professionale (it)
• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Maori: ngaio
• Mongolian: мэргэжлийн (mergežliin)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: profesjonell (no), faglig, yrkesmessig

  Nynorsk: profesjonell, fagleg, yrkesmessig

• Persian: حرفه‌ای (fa) (herfe-'i)
• Polish: profesjonalny (pl)
• Portuguese: profissional (pt) m or f
• Romanian: profesional (ro) m or n
• Russian: профессиона́льный (ru) (professionálʹnyj)
• Slovak: profesionálny, odborný
• Spanish: profesional (es)
• Swedish: professionell (sv)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Ukrainian: професі́йний (uk) (profesíjnyj)
• Vietnamese: chuyên nghiệp (vi)

that is carried out as a livelihood

• Czech: profesionální (cs)
• Danish: professionel
• Finnish: ammattimainen (fi)
• German: berufsmäßig (de), professionell (de)
• Greek: επαγγελματικός (el) (epangelmatikós)
• Hungarian: hivatásos (hu), profi (hu)
• Irish: gairmiúil
• Maori: whaiutu
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: profesjonell (no)

  Nynorsk: profesjonell

• Persian: حرفه‌ای (fa) (herfe-'i)
• Portuguese: profissional (pt) m or f
• Romanian: profesional (ro) m or n, profesionist (ro) m or n
• Russian: профессиона́льный (ru) (professionálʹnyj)
• Slovak: profesionálny
• Spanish: profesional (es)
• Swedish: professionell (sv)

expert

• Armenian: արհեստավարժ (hy) (arhestavarž), պրոֆեսիոնալ (hy) (profesional)
• Catalan: professional (ca), perit (ca)
• Czech: profesionální (cs)
• Dutch: deskundig (nl)
• Finnish: ammattimainen (fi), ammattitaitoinen (fi)
• German: professionell (de)
• Hungarian: profi (hu)
• Italian: specializzato (it), qualificato (it)
• Maori: mātanga, ngaio
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: profesjonell (no)

  Nynorsk: profesjonell

• Portuguese: profissional (pt) m or f
• Romanian: profesional (ro) m or n
• Russian: профессиона́льный (ru) (professionálʹnyj)
• Slovak: odborný
• Swedish: professionell (sv)
• Vietnamese: chuyên gia (vi)

Catalan

Etymology

From professió +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [pɾu.fə.si.uˈnal]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [pɾo.fə.si.oˈnal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [pɾo.fe.si.oˈnal]
• Rhymes: -al

Adjective

professional m or f (masculine and feminine plural professionals)

1. professional

Derived terms

• professionalisme
• professionalment

Noun

professional m or f by sense (plural professionals)

1. professional

Further reading

• “professional” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “professional”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “professional” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “professional” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Dutch

Etymology

From English professional.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

professional m (plural professionals)

1. a professional practitioner of a trade, métier.
2. an expert in a (professional) field

Related terms

• professionalism n