yeoman

The definition of a yeoman is an attendant, servant or assistant in England or a petty officer in the U.S. Navy.

(noun)

An example of a yeoman is a butler in an old British mystery novel.

See yeoman in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun pl. yeomen

Historical, Brit.
1. an attendant or manservant in a royal or noble household
2. an assistant or subordinate, as to a sheriff
3. a freeholder of a class below the gentry, who worked his own land
Brit.
1. a person who owns and cultivates a relatively small tract of land
2. yeoman of the (royal) guard
3. a member of the yeomanry (sense )
U.S. Navy a petty officer assigned to clerical duty

Origin: ME yeman, prob. contr. < yengman, yung man, lit., young man

adjective

of or characteristic of yeomen

See yeoman in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

a. An attendant, servant, or lesser official in a royal or noble household.
b. A yeoman of the guard.
A petty officer performing chiefly clerical duties in the U.S. Navy.
An assistant or other subordinate, as of a sheriff.
A diligent, dependable worker.
A farmer who cultivates his own land, especially a member of a former class of small freeholders in England.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English yoman

Origin: , perhaps from Old English *gēaman

Origin: , from Old Frisian gāman, villager

Origin: : gā, region, district

Origin: + man, man; see man-¹ in Indo-European roots

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