yeoman
a petty officer in a navy, having chiefly clerical duties in the U.S. Navy.
British. a farmer who cultivates his own land.
History/Historical. one of a class of lesser freeholders, below the gentry, who cultivated their own land, early admitted in England to political rights.
Archaic.
a servant, attendant, or subordinate official in a royal or other great household.
a subordinate or assistant, as of a sheriff or other official or in a craft or trade.
of, pertaining to, composed of, or characteristic of yeomen: the yeoman class.
performed or rendered in a loyal, valiant, useful, or workmanlike manner, especially in situations that involve a great deal of effort or labor: He did a yeoman job on the problem.
Origin of yeoman
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use yeoman in a sentence
Today, the Yeomen of the Guard continue this historic search, in addition to more hi-tec security checks by police.
Queen Opens Parliament Today in Colorful Ancient Ceremony | Tom Sykes | May 9, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTHe had received the scanty education generally bestowed upon the sons of small yeomen at the beginning of the present century.
The World Before Them | Susanna MoodieThe Austerfield branch were yeomen, once so important in the English commons that they ranked next to the gentry.
William Bradford of Plymouth | Albert Hale PlumbThe Carsons belonged to a corps of yeomen; and being Protestants, they were privileged to carry arms.
The Chronicles of Crime or The New Newgate Calendar. v. 1/2 | Camden PelhamAnd up they took proud Tarquin, and laid him on the shield, And four strong yeomen bore him, still senseless from the field.
From the Thames to the Tiber | J. Wardle
The peerage, the gentry, the yeomen, and the peasantry—all classes were bound together with the links of respect and of affection.
British Dictionary definitions for yeoman
/ (ˈjəʊmən) /
history
a member of a class of small freeholders of common birth who cultivated their own land
an assistant or other subordinate to an official, such as a sheriff, or to a craftsman or trader
an attendant or lesser official in a royal or noble household
(in Britain) another name for yeoman of the guard
(modifier) characteristic of or relating to a yeoman
a petty officer or noncommissioned officer in the Royal Navy or Marines in charge of signals
Origin of yeoman
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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