Apprentice
The word apprentice comes from Latin apprehendere (to take hold of, to grasp mentally or physically). In medieval Latin, apprehendere meant ‘to learn’. From these roots came Old French apprentiz (someone learning) and by around 1300 the word apprentice appears in English meaning someone bound by legal agreement to an employer to learn a trade or craft.
The legal contract between an employer and an apprentice was called an ‘indenture’, from Latin dens (tooth) and indent (to bite into). An ‘indenture’ was signed, torn in half raggedly, saw-toothlike, and the employer and apprentice each got ‘half’ the contract so that no changes could be made after the fact. Sounds like something you could really sink your teeth into.
The word apprenticeship, from the 1590s, replaced the 14th century word apprenticehood. The verb ‘to apprentice’ is from the 1630s.
The legal contract between an employer and an apprentice was called an ‘indenture’, from Latin dens (tooth) and indent (to bite into). An ‘indenture’ was signed, torn in half raggedly, saw-toothlike, and the employer and apprentice each got ‘half’ the contract so that no changes could be made after the fact. Sounds like something you could really sink your teeth into.
The word apprenticeship, from the 1590s, replaced the 14th century word apprenticehood. The verb ‘to apprentice’ is from the 1630s.
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