Both Uses of
profess
in
Great Expectations
- This man pursued Miss Havisham closely, and professed to be devoted to her.†
p. 189.9 *professed = claimed
- Compeyson is the man who professed to be Miss Havisham's lover.†
p. 373.7
Definitions:
-
(1)
(profess) to claim or declare -- often insincerely
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Much more rarely, profess can mean:- to teach or be knowledgeable of -- as in "profess chemistry"
- practice as a profession -- as in "profess medicine"
- proclaim belief in or allegiance to -- as in "profess Catholicism"