profess

动词 profess:

1. practice as a profession, teach, or claim to be knowledgeable about
2. confess one's faith in, or allegiance to
3. admit, make a clean breast of
   同义词：concede, confess
4. state freely
5. receive into a religious order or congregation
6. take vows, as in religious order
7. state insincerely
   同义词：pretend

1. He professed to know nothing about the matter.
   他声称对此事一无所知。
2. He professed himself to be a poet.
   他自称是诗人。

pro.fess

v.（动词）
pro.fessed,pro.fess.ing,pro.fess.es
v.tr.（及物动词）
To affirm openly; declare or claim:
公开承认；宣布或声称：
例句：
.I profess both to learn and to teach anatomy, not from books but from dissections.(William Harvey)
.我确认在学习和讲授解剖学中都不能靠书本，而应靠解剖标本.(威廉·哈维)

To make a pretense of; pretend:
自称…；假装：
例句：
.He professed to despise everything that had happened since 850.(Louis Auchincloss)
.他自称厌恶自850年以来发生的一切事情.(路易斯·奥金克洛斯)

To claim skill in or knowledge of:
执…为业：声称精通某一技术或知识：
例句：
profess medicine.
行医

To affirm belief in:
宣称信仰：
例句：
profess Catholicism.
宣称信仰天主教

To receive into a religious order or congregation.
接受入教：接受…加入宗教组织或团体
v.intr.（不及物动词）
To make an open affirmation.
声称：公开承认
To take the vows of a religious order or congregation.
宣誓入教：宣誓加入某宗教组织或团体

来源：
Middle English professen [to take vows]
中古英语 professen [宣誓]
from Old French profes [that has taken a religious vow] from Medieval Latin professus [avowed]
源自 古法语 profes [已宣誓的人] 源自 中世纪拉丁语 professus [公开，宣称]
and from Medieval Latin profess3re [to administer a vow]
并源自 中世纪拉丁语 profess3re [进行宣誓]
both from Latin professus [past participle of] profitôro [to affirm openly]
都源自 拉丁语 professus [] profitôro的过去分词 [公开宣布]
pro- [forth] * see pro-
pro- [向外，向前] *参见 pro-
fatôro [to acknowledge] * see bh3- 2
fatôro [承认] *参见 bh3- 2

【引伸】
profess.edly