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apprentice

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

10 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "apprentice", 10-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "apprentice" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "apprentice" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

apprentice is aEnglishnoun. It means: A trainee, especially in a skilled trade. Pronounced /əˈpɹɛntɪs/.

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Key facts for apprentice
PropertyValue
Headwordapprentice
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˈpɹɛntɪs/
Letters10
Frequency rank#11,164
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of apprentice in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for apprentice is 10 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əˈpɹɛntɪs/. Corpus data places it at rank #11,164 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 13 documented wrong-spelling variants for apprentice, with forms such as "apperntice", "apprenitce", and "apprenntice". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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. Compare typologically Latin discipulus (akin to capiō); … Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is apprentice, spelled A-P-P-R-E-N-T-I-C-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A trainee, especially in a skilled trade.
  2. 2
    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. 3
    One not well versed in a subject; a tyro or newbie.

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. Compare typologically Latin discipulus (akin to capiō); Russian схва́тывать на лету́ (sxvátyvatʹ na letú), and for another aspect быть на подхва́те (bytʹ na podxváte) (both akin to хвата́ть (xvatátʹ).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: apperntice,apprenitce,apprenntice,apprentcie,apprenticce,apprentiec,apprenttice,appretnice,apprnetice,apprrentice,aprentice,aprpentice,paprentice

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for apprentice

Misspelling Variants of "apprentice"

apperntice10apprenitce10apprenntice11apprentcie10apprenticce11apprentiec10apprenttice11appretnice10
Misspelling Variants of "apprentice"

Frequency rank: #11,164 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "apprentice"?
"apprentice" is spelled A-P-P-R-E-N-T-I-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈpɹɛntɪs/.
What does "apprentice" mean?
As a noun, "apprentice" means: A trainee, especially in a skilled trade.
What are common misspellings of "apprentice"?
Common misspellings include "apperntice", "apprenitce", "apprenntice", "apprentcie", "apprenticce". The correct spelling is "apprentice".
How do you pronounce "apprentice"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "apprentice" is /əˈpɹɛntɪs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "apprentice"?
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. Compare typologically Latin discipulus (akin t... See the full etymology section above for more details.
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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.