apprentice

[uh-pren-tis] /əˈprɛn tɪs/
noun
1.
a person who works for another in order to learn a trade:
an apprentice to a plumber.
2.
History/Historical. a person legally bound through indenture to a master craftsman in order to learn a trade.
3.
a learner; novice; tyro.
4.
U.S. Navy. an enlisted person receiving specialized training.
5.
a jockey with less than one year's experience who has won fewer than 40 races.
verb (used with object), apprenticed, apprenticing.
6.
to bind to or place with an employer, master craftsman, or the like, for instruction in a trade.
verb (used without object), apprenticed, apprenticing.
7.
to serve as an apprentice:
He apprenticed for 14 years under a master silversmith.
Origin
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 forms
apprenticeship, noun
unapprenticed, adjective
Examples from the web for apprentice
  • Look up, print and/or download apprentice rates by trade, county and program.
  • By day he was a sullen apprentice at a local print shop.
  • At the same time, he sought to learn about film by working as an apprentice to several filmmakers.
  • The apprentice takes his lessons well beyond the fundamentals and elevates his profession from a mere vocation to a veritable art.
  • And I have seen artists apprentice themselves to people, because it's so easy.
  • At this period he was bound apprentice to a mechanic.
  • He eventually let her work for free, then hired her as an apprentice.
  • The life of an artist as seen through the eyes of a young apprentice.
  • After moving to Chicago in his youth, he became a ballroom dance instructor and printer's apprentice.
  • The chance to apprentice with today's greats is rare; reading about them is the next best thing.
British Dictionary definitions for apprentice

apprentice

/əˈprɛntɪs/
noun
1.
someone who works for a skilled or qualified person in order to learn a trade or profession, esp for a recognized period
2.
any beginner or novice
verb
3.
(transitive) to take, place, or bind as an apprentice
Derived Forms
apprenticeship, noun
Word Origin
C14: from Old French aprentis, from Old French aprendre to learn, from Latin apprehendere to apprehend
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.

v.

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