apprentice

English

Alternative forms

• apprentise (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English apprentice, apprentesse, apprentyse, apprentis, from Old French aprentis, plural of aprentif, from Old French aprendre (verb), Late Latin apprendō, from Classical Latin apprehendō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˈpɹɛntɪs/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Noun

apprentice (plural apprentices)

1. A trainee, especially in a skilled trade.
   • 1961 March, C. P. Boocock, “The organisation of Eastleigh Locomotive Works”, in Trains Illustrated, page 163:

     To this end a well-equipped and keenly-run apprentice training school has been in operation at Eastleigh since 1958 and here apprentices are given a good grounding in a number of trades, followed by a thorough training in the trade to which they become allocated.

   • 2022 December 14, “Network News: A pipeline of work key for apprentices”, in RAIL, number 972, page 17:

     Scottish rail suppliers have told the Government that they can only reach their target of employing 500 apprentices if they are given a clear pipeline of work, rather than having to endure the current stop-go programme.

2. (historical) One who is bound by indentures or by legal agreement to serve a tradesperson, or other person, for a certain time, with a view to learn the art, or trade, in which his master is bound to instruct him.
3. (dated) One not well versed in a subject; a tyro or newbie.

Derived terms

• seaman apprentice
• sorcerer's apprentice

Translations

trainee, especially in a skilled trade

• Albanian: çirak (sq) m
• Arabic: مُبْتَدِئ m (mubtadiʔ), مُبْتَدِئَة f (mubtadiʔa), تِلْمِيذ m (tilmīḏ), تِلْمِيذَة f (tilmīḏa)
• Armenian: աշակերտ (hy) (ašakert)
• Azerbaijani: şagird (az)
• Bashkir: өйрәнсек (öyrənsek)
• Belarusian: падма́йстар m (padmájstar), падма́йстарка f (padmájstarka), ву́чань m (vúčanʹ), вучані́ца f (vučaníca)
• Bulgarian: чира́к m (čirák), чира́чка f (čiráčka)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 學徒／学徒 (zh) (xuétú)

• Crimean Tatar: şıraq
• Czech: učeň m (trainee, especially in a skilled trade), učnice f
• Danish: lærling c
• Dutch: leerjongen (nl) m, leermeisje n, gezel (nl) m
• Estonian: õpipoiss
• Finnish: harjoittelija (fi), ammattioppilas
• French: apprenti (fr) m
• Galician: aprendiz (gl) m
• Georgian: ქარგალი (kargali), შეგირდი (šegirdi)
• German: Lehrling (de) m, Auszubildender (de) m, Auszubildende (de) f, Azubi (de) m or f
• Greek: μαθητευόμενος (el) m (mathitevómenos)
• Hindi: शागिर्द (hi) m (śāgird), शिष्य (hi) m (śiṣya)
• Hungarian: tanuló (hu), segéd (hu), gyakornok (hu), tanonc (hu), (archaic) inas (hu), szakiskolás
• Icelandic: lærlingur (is) m
• Italian: apprendista (it) m, bardotto (it) m
• Japanese: 見習い (ja) (みならい, minarai), 実習生 (じっしゅうせい, jisshūsei), (historical) 徒弟 (ja) (とてい, totei)
• Kazakh: шәкірт (şäkırt), оқушы (oquşy)
• Korean: 견습생(見習生) (gyeonseupsaeng), 도제(徒弟) (doje)
• Kyrgyz: үйрөнчүк (ky) (üyröncük), окуучу (ky) (okuucu)
• Latin: discipulus (la) m
• Latvian: māceklis m
• Lithuanian: mokinys m, mokinė f
• Macedonian: чирак m (čirak), чирачка f (čiračka) (higher level), калфа m (kalfa) (lower level)
• Malay: perantis
• Maltese: apprendist m, apprendista f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: lærling m, læregutt m

  Nynorsk: lærling m, læregut m

• Ottoman Turkish: شاگرد (şagird), چراق (çırak), اوشاق (uşak)
• Persian: شاگِرْد (fa) (šâgerd), میلاو (fa) (milâv) (archaic)
• Polish: uczeń (pl) m, uczennica (pl) f, terminator (pl) m (obsolete), adept (pl) m, adeptka (pl) f
• Portuguese: aprendiz (pt)
• Romanian: ucenic (ro) m, ucenică (ro) f
• Russian: учени́к (ru) m (učeník), учени́ца (ru) f (učeníca), (historical) подмасте́рье (ru) m (podmastérʹje)
• Scottish Gaelic: preantas m, foghlamaiche m, tàilleabhach m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: шѐгрт m

  Roman: šègrt (sh) m

• Slovak: učeň m, učnica f
• Slovene: vajenec (sl) m, vajenka f
• Spanish: aprendiz (es) m
• Swedish: lärling (sv) c
• Tagalog: aralan
• Tajik: шогирд (tg) (šogird), милов (milov)
• Tatar: шәкерт (tt) (şäkert)
• Thai: ผู้ฝึกงาน (pûu-fʉ̀k-ngaan)
• Turkish: çırak (tr), öğrenci (tr), bılız (tr) (dialectal), calçı (tr) (dialectal)
• Turkmen: okuwçy, şägirt
• Ukrainian: підма́йстер m (pidmájster), підма́йстерка f (pidmájsterka), у́чень (uk) m (účenʹ), учени́ця (uk) f (učenýcja)
• Urdu: شاگِرْد m (śāgird), تِلْمِیذ m (tilmīz)
• Uyghur: شاگىرت (shagirt), ئوقۇغۇچى (ug) (oqughuchi)
• Uzbek: shogird (uz), xalfa (uz), oʻquvchi (uz)
• Vietnamese: người học nghề
• Yiddish: לערנייִנגל n (lernyingl), געזעל m (gezel)

historical: one who is bound to serve a tradesperson with a view to learn his art or trade

• Belarusian: падма́йстар m (padmájstar), падма́йстарка f (padmájstarka)
• Bulgarian: чира́к m (čirák), чира́чка f (čiráčka)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 徒弟 (zh) (túdì), 學徒／学徒 (zh) (xuétú)

• Finnish: oppipoika (fi)
• Galician: aprendiz (gl) m
• German: Lehrling (de) m, Lehrtochter (de) f
• Hungarian: inas (hu), tanonc (hu)
• Russian: подмасте́рье (ru) m (podmastérʹje)
• Ukrainian: підма́йстер m (pidmájster), підма́йстерка f (pidmájsterka)

one not well versed in a subject — see newbie

See also

• journeyman
• masterman
• master
• trainee

Verb

apprentice (third-person singular simple present apprentices, present participle apprenticing, simple past and past participle apprenticed)

1. (transitive) To put under the care and supervision of a master, for the purpose of instruction in a trade or business.

   His father had apprenticed him to a silk merchant.

   He was apprenticed to a local employer.

2. (transitive) To be an apprentice to.

   Joe apprenticed three different photographers before setting up his own studio.

Translations

put under the care and supervision of a master

• German: in die Lehre geben zu, in die Ausbildung geben zu

be an apprentice to

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 當學徒／当学徒 (dāng xuétú)

• Finnish: olla jonkun opissa
• German: seine Ausbildung machen bei, in der ausgebildet sein bei, ausgebildet werden bei
• Spanish: colocar de aprendiz

References

• “apprentice”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “apprentice”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.