yeoman

[ yoh-muhn ]

/ ˈyoʊ mən /

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noun, plural yeo·men.

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.

adjective

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.

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Origin of yeoman

1300–50; Middle English yeman, yoman, probably reduced forms of yengman, yongman, yungman, with similar sense; see young, man

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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|DAILY BEAST
He 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 Moodie
The Austerfield branch were yeomen, once so important in the English commons that they ranked next to the gentry.
William Bradford of Plymouth|Albert Hale Plumb
The 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 Pelham

And 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.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 56, Number 347, September, 1844|Various

British Dictionary definitions for yeoman

yeoman

/ (ˈjəʊmən) /

noun plural -men

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

Word Origin for yeoman

C15: perhaps from yongman young man

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

yeoman

Origin of yeoman

Words related to yeoman

How to use yeoman in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for yeoman

Word Origin for yeoman