Meaning & History. From an English surname which was derived from the given name GERALD or GERARD. A famous bearer of the surname was Pat Garrett (1850-1908), the sheriff who shot Billy the Kid.
Definition of avocational. 1  1 : of or relating to an avocation an avocational interest in sports. 2  2 : being such by avocation an avocational musician.
(Credit: J. Quendag via Shutterstock/Salon). âVocabulismâ is a Salon series about how the internet is killing the English language, one word at a time. The Internet has a long and well-established history of sapping the meaning from once-colorful vernacular.