Emily Dickinson Lexicon

AV-O-CA'TION, n. [See Vocation, Voice, Vocal.]

1. The act of calling aside, or diverting from some employment; as, an avocation from sin or from business.
2. The business which calls aside. The word is generally used for the smaller affairs of life, or occasional calls which summon a person to leave his ordinary or principal business. The use of this word for vocation is very improper.