teachership (n.)

mid-14c., techer, "one who provides moral guidance to another;" late 14c., "one who gives instruction in a field or craft;" agent noun from teach (v.).

It was used earlier in a sense of "index finger" (early 14c.). By c. 1400 as "animal trainer" Fem. form teacheress is attested from late 14c. (in reference to Wisdom, translating Latin doctrix). Teacher's pet "student aspiring to be favored by a teacher" is attested from 1856; teacher's aide is by 1956. Related: Teacherly.

word-forming element meaning "quality, condition; act, power, skill; office, position; relation between," Middle English -schipe, from Old English -sciepe, Anglian -scip "state, condition of being," from Proto-Germanic *-skepi- (cognates: Old Norse -skapr, Danish -skab, Old Frisian -skip, Dutch -schap, German -schaft), from *skap- "to create, ordain, appoint," from PIE root *(s)kep-, forming words meaning "to cut, scrape, hack" (see shape (v.)). It often forms abstracts to go with corresponding concretes (friend/friendship, etc.).