apprentice

[uh-pren-tis]

See more synonyms for apprentice on Thesaurus.com

noun

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.

verb (used with object), ap·pren·ticed, ap·pren·tic·ing.

to bind to or place with an employer, master craftsman, or the like, for instruction in a trade.

verb (used without object), ap·pren·ticed, ap·pren·tic·ing.

to serve as an apprentice: He apprenticed for 14 years under a master silversmith.

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

Related formsap·pren·tice·ship, nounun·ap·pren·ticed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for apprenticeship

discipline, information, direction, guidance, training, schooling, preparation, teaching, lesson, trial, instruction, culture, cultivation, learning, reading, tutoring, coaching, literacy, scholarship, apprenticeship

Examples from the Web for apprenticeship

Contemporary Examples of apprenticeship

This can be community college or a four-year school; vocational training or an apprenticeship.
'We Will Recover'
Barack Obama
February 25, 2009

Historical Examples of apprenticeship

At the expiration of his apprenticeship, in 1832, he came to Ohio.
Cleveland Past and Present
Maurice Joblin
As far as I can make out the period of apprenticeship is much too long.
Changing Winds
St. John G. Ervine
Of his apprenticeship, and the first years of his career, no records exist.
Christopher Columbus and His Monument Columbia
Various
Elsie smiled, and disclaimed any intention of apprenticeship.
Cap'n Eri
Joseph Crosby Lincoln
He liked the work just as little as he had in the beginning of his apprenticeship.
The Portygee
Joseph Crosby Lincoln

British Dictionary definitions for apprenticeship

apprentice

noun

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

verb

(tr) to take, place, or bind as an apprentice

Derived Formsapprenticeship, noun

Word Origin for apprentice

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for apprenticeship

1590s, from apprentice (n.) + -ship. Replaced earlier apprenticehood (late 14c., with -hood).

apprentice

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.

apprentice

1630s, from apprentice (n.). Related: Apprenticed; apprenticing.