from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
intern \in*tern"\, n. [F.] (F. pron. [a^]N`t[^a]rn")
1. (Med.) A resident physician in a hospital, especially one
who has recently received the Doctorate and is practising
under supervision of experienced physicians, as a
continuation of the training process; a house physician;
also called {houseman} in Britain. [Also spelled
{interne}.]
[Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC]
2. A person working as an apprentice to gain experience in an
occupation; sometimes the position is paid a salary, and
other times it is not; as, a white house intern; an intern
in a law firm.
[PJC]