yeomanry Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun class of small freeholders who cultivated their own land
  2. noun a British volunteer cavalry force organized in 1761 for home defense later incorporated into the Territorial Army

WordNet

Yeo"man*ry noun
Definitions
  1. The position or rank of a yeoman. Obs. "His estate of yeomanry." Chaucer.
  2. The collective body of yeomen, or freeholders.
    The enfranchised yeomanry began to feel an instinct for dominion. Bancroft.
  3. The yeomanry cavalry. Eng.

Webster 1913