n. 1. The service or condition of an apprentice; the state in which a person is gaining instruction in a trade or art, under legal agreement. [ 1913 Webster ]
2. The time an apprentice is serving (sometimes seven years, as from the age of fourteen to twenty-one). [ 1913 Webster ]
[ねんき, nenki] (n) (1) period of an apprentice's contract (usu. ten years); (2) (abbr) (See 年季奉公) apprenticeship; indentureship; indenture; (3) (年期 only) one-year period