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.

Nearby words

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for apprenticeship

This can be community college or a four-year school; vocational training or an apprenticeship.
'We Will Recover'|Barack Obama|February 25, 2009|DAILY BEAST
But I have tarried too long over those days of my apprenticeship, and am yet only at the beginning.
The Adventures of Harry Revel|Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
Clergymen and missionaries, declared that the apprenticeship was no preparation for freedom.
The Anti-Slavery Examiner, Omnibus|American Anti-Slavery Society
A long term of apprenticeship restrains it more indirectly, but as effectually, by increasing the expense of education.
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations|Adam Smith

In the hopeful days of his apprenticeship all had seemed so easy before him.
A Romance Of Tompkins Square|Thomas A. Janvier
You must face the drudgery of apprenticeship or quit right now.
Moon-Face and Other Stories|Jack London

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

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.

apprentice

noun

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

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

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Origin of apprentice

Examples from the Web for apprenticeship

apprentice

noun

verb

Word Origin for apprentice

apprenticeship

apprentice

apprentice