Emily Dickinson Lexicon

AP-PREN'TICE-SHIP, n.

1. The term for which an apprentice is bound to serve his master. This term in England is by statute seven years. In Paris, the term is five years after which, the person, before he is qualified to exercise the trade as a master, must serve five years as a journeyman; during which term, he is called the companion of his master, and the term is called his companionship. – Encyc.
2. The service, state or condition of an apprentice; a state in which a person is gaining instruction under a master.