What does advocation mean?
Advocation is a noun denoting the act of advocating — speaking, pleading, or otherwise acting in support of a person, cause, or principle. It derives from the Latin advocatio, formed from advocare, 'to call to one's aid,' the same root that gives us advocate and vocation. Although once a serviceable term, advocation has been almost entirely displaced in modern usage by its shorter cousin advocacy, and it now survives chiefly in older legal and literary texts, where it can lend a deliberately formal or historical tone. Writers today encounter it most often as a curiosity: a word whose meaning is transparent yet whose rarity makes it feel antique. It should not be confused with avocation, which means a hobby or sideline pursued apart from one's main profession — a near-identical spelling concealing a wholly unrelated sense. For anyone reading historical documents, legal archives, or classic literature, however, recognizing advocation as simply an older form of advocacy makes the word immediately useful.
nounThe act or process of advocating for a cause, person, or position; a now largely archaic term for what is more commonly expressed as advocacy.
- The action of advocating or pleading on behalf of a cause, person, or principle; support or championship of something.
"Her tireless advocation of prison reform eventually moved the legislature to act."
"The lawyer's advocation on behalf of the accused was widely praised."
"Throughout her career she remained devoted to the advocation of educational equality."
The plural is rare, since the word itself is uncommon; when used, it typically refers to multiple instances or acts of advocacy.
"The archive preserves his many advocations on behalf of the poor."
Swap one letter and 'advocation' becomes 'avocation' — turning a plea for justice into your weekend hobby.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of advocation
Advocation comes from the Latin advocatio, meaning 'a calling to one's aid,' built on the verb advocare ('to summon, to call to'), from ad- ('to') plus vocare ('to call'). The word entered English in the late medieval or early modern period, carrying both a general sense of pleading in support of something and specialized legal senses relating to the transfer or assertion of rights. It shares its root with advocate, vocation, invoke, and evoke, all descendants of Latin vocare. Over time, the clipped form advocacy supplanted it as the standard English noun.
How advocation is actually used
Advocation is rare in modern English and carries a formal, somewhat archaic flavor; 'advocacy' is strongly preferred in contemporary writing. It appears mainly in older texts and legal-historical contexts.
Easily confused with advocation
Advocacy is the standard modern word for public support of a cause, while advocation is an older, rarer synonym that has largely fallen out of use.
An avocation is a hobby or secondary occupation pursued alongside one's main work, whereas advocation refers to the act of advocating — the two words differ by only one letter but mean entirely different things.