calling

(UK)
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkɔːlɪŋ/, [kʰolɪŋ]
- (Northumbria) IPA^(key): /kaːlɪn/
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkɔlɪŋ/, [kʰɔlɪŋ]
(cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /ˈkɑlɪŋ/, [kʰɑlɪŋ]
Audio (US): (file)
Rhymes: -ɔːlɪŋ

From Middle English callyng, kallyng, kalland, from Old English *cealliende and Old Norse kallandi, equivalent to call +‎ -ing.

calling

From Middle English calling, callynge, equivalent to call +‎ -ing.

calling (plural callings)

A strong urge (to do some particular thing with or in one's life, for example to become religious, to help the poor, or to be an entertainer).
A job or occupation.
- 2013 June 22, “Engineers of a different kind”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 70:
  Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers. Piling debt onto companies’ balance-sheets is only a small part of what leveraged buy-outs are about, they insist. Improving the workings of the businesses they take over is just as core to their calling, if not more so. Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster.

strong urge (to become or do something) — see also vocation

occupation — see also occupation,‎ profession