Apprenticeship
nounA fixed period during which someone learns a skilled trade or profession by working under a qualified practitioner.
How to spell apprenticeship
14 letters · 4 syllables
How to pronounce apprenticeship
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does apprenticeship mean?
- nounA fixed period during which someone learns a skilled trade or profession by working under a qualified practitioner.
Apprenticeship in a sentence
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She completed a four-year apprenticeship as an electrician before starting her own firm.
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The company offers a paid apprenticeship to school leavers who want to learn carpentry.
Where does apprenticeship come from?
Language of origin: French
The word grows out of the noun 'apprentice', which English took from Old French 'aprentis', meaning a person who is learning. That French word traced back to the Latin verb 'apprehendere', literally 'to grasp' or 'to take hold of', from 'ad' (to) and 'prehendere' (to seize); a learner was someone grasping a skill. The suffix '-ship' is native Old English, from 'scipe', meaning a state, rank, or condition, the same ending found in 'friendship' and 'hardship'. So an apprenticeship is, quite literally, the condition of being one who is grasping a trade. The spelling trap sits in the soft middle: the 'c' sounds like an 's', and the unstressed '-tice-' easily blurs, so writers must remember it is built straightforwardly on 'apprentice' plus '-ship' with no letters dropped.
How the word is built
- apprentice (one learning a trade)
- -ship (state or condition)
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