yeoman Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun officer in the (ceremonial) bodyguard of the British monarch
    beefeater; yeoman of the guard.
  2. noun in former times was free and cultivated his own land

WordNet

Yeo"man noun
Etymology
OE. yoman, ýeman, ýoman; of uncertain origin; perhaps the first, syllable is akin to OFries. ga district, region, G. gau, OHG. gewi, gouwi, Goth. gawi.
Wordforms
plural Yeomen
Definitions
  1. A common man, or one of the commonly of the first or most respectable class; a freeholder; a man free born. ✍ A yeoman in England is considered as next in order to the gentry. The word is little used in the United States, unless as a title in law proceedings and instruments, designating occupation, and this only in particular States.
  2. A servant; a retainer. Obs.
    A yeman hadde he and servants no mo. Chaucer.
  3. A yeoman of the guard; also, a member of the yeomanry cavalry. Eng.
  4. (Naut.) An interior officer under the boatswain, gunner, or carpenters, charged with the stowage, account, and distribution of the stores.

Webster 1913