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From Middle English yoman, yeman, from Old English *ġēamann (compare Old Frisian gāman (villager), Middle Dutch goymann ‘arbiter’), compound of , gēa ‘district, region’ (in ælgē, Sūthrigēa), from Proto-Germanic *gawi (compare West Frisian gea, goa, Dutch gouw, German Gau), and mann ‘man’.[1][2] More at man.



yeoman (plural yeomen)

  1. An official providing honorable service in a royal or high noble household, ranking between a squire and a page.
  2. (historical) A former class of small freeholders who farm their own land; a commoner of good standing.
  3. A subordinate, deputy, aide, or assistant.
  4. A Yeoman Warder.
  5. A clerk in the US navy, and US Coast Guard.
  6. (nautical) In a vessel of war, the person in charge of the storeroom.
  7. A member of the Yeomanry Cavalry officially chartered in 1794 originating around the 1760s.
  8. A member of the Imperial Yeomanry officially created in 1890s and renamed in 1907.

Derived terms[edit]



  1. ^ Robert K. Barnhart, ed., Chambers Dictionary of Etymology, s.v. “yeoman” (Edinburgh: Chambers, [2008], c1988), 1253.
  2. ^ American Heritage Dictionary, 4th edn., s.v. “yeoman”.

See also[edit]