yeoman

[ yoh-muhn ]
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noun,plural yeo·men.
  1. a petty officer in a navy, having chiefly clerical duties in the U.S. Navy.

  2. British. a farmer who cultivates his own land.

  1. History/Historical. one of a class of lesser freeholders, below the gentry, who cultivated their own land, early admitted in England to political rights.

  2. 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
  1. of, pertaining to, composed of, or characteristic of yeomen: the yeoman class.

  2. 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

1
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. 2024

How to use yeoman in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for yeoman

yeoman

/ (ˈjəʊmən) /


nounplural -men
  1. 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

  2. (in Britain) another name for yeoman of the guard

  1. (modifier) characteristic of or relating to a yeoman

  2. a petty officer or noncommissioned officer in the Royal Navy or Marines in charge of signals

Origin of yeoman

1
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