apprentice
[uh-pren-tis]
- a person who works for another in order to learn a trade: an apprentice to a plumber.
- History/Historical. a person legally bound through indenture to a master craftsman in order to learn a trade.
- a learner; novice; tyro.
- U.S. Navy. an enlisted person receiving specialized training.
- a jockey with less than one year's experience who has won fewer than 40 races.
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- to bind to or place with an employer, master craftsman, or the like, for instruction in a trade.
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- to serve as an apprentice: He apprenticed for 14 years under a master silversmith.
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Origin of apprentice
1300–50; Middle English ap(p)rentis < Anglo-French, Old French ap(p)rentiz < Vulgar Latin *apprenditīcius, equivalent to *apprendit(us) (for Latin apprehēnsus; see apprehensible) + Latin -īcius suffix forming adjectives from past participles, here nominalized
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for apprentice
Contemporary Examples
Cocker, for his part, worked briefly as an apprentice gasfitter but decided to take the plunge into the world of commercial music.
Now, the onetime Lloyd Kaufman/Troma apprentice is the toast of Tinseltown.
‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Filmmaker James Gunn on His Glorious Space Opera and Rise to the A-ListMarlow Stern
August 3, 2014
In 1966 Browne joined BP as an apprentice; his postings with them bought him to the US.
While Trump has The Apprentice on NBC, Morris and Palin have recently been fired from Fox News.
Even reality-TV shows such as The Apprentice and Survivor are fodder for the modern college student.
‘50 Shades of Grey’ Is the Subject of a Course at American UniversityRachel Kramer Bussel
December 28, 2012
Historical Examples
The Assistant Commissioner interrupted the apprentice statesman.
The Secret AgentJoseph Conrad
His son William has been with me this winter, and goes in May to be an apprentice to a mason.
The Letters of Robert BurnsRobert Burns
The chauffeur began to supply the wants of his machine with the help of an apprentice.
A Nest of SpiesPierre Souvestre
I understood, Marzak, that thou art sailing with us as apprentice.
The Sea-HawkRaphael Sabatini
The apprentice's face appeared to me to say all that, and he had an honest face.
apprentice
- someone who works for a skilled or qualified person in order to learn a trade or profession, esp for a recognized period
- any beginner or novice
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- (tr) to take, place, or bind as an apprentice
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Word Origin
C14: from Old French aprentis, from Old French aprendre to learn, from Latin apprehendere to apprehend
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for apprentice
n.
c.1300, from Old French aprentiz "someone learning" (13c., Modern French apprenti, taking the older form as a plural), also as an adjective, "unskilled, inexperienced," from aprendre (Modern French apprendre) "to learn; to teach," contracted from Latin apprehendere (see apprehend). Shortened form prentice long was more usual in English.
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v.
1630s, from apprentice (n.). Related: Apprenticed; apprenticing.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper