yeoman

yeoman

See also: Yeoman

English

WOTD – 30 September 2009

Etymology

From Middle English yoman, yeman, from Old English *ġēamann (compare Old Frisian gāman (“villager”), Middle Dutch goymann (“arbiter”)), compound of ġē, ġēa (“district, region”) (in ælġē, Sūþriġēa), from Proto-Germanic *gawją (compare West Frisian gea, goa, Dutch gouw, German Gau) + mann (“man”).[1][2]

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈjəʊ.mən/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈjoʊ.mən/
• (obsolete) IPA^(key): /ˈjiː.mən/[3]
• Rhymes: -əʊmən

Noun

yeoman (plural yeomen)

1. (UK) An official providing honorable service in a royal or high noble household, ranking between a squire and a page. Especially, a yeoman of the guard, a member of a ceremonial bodyguard to the UK monarch (not to be confused with a Yeoman Warder).
2. (US) A dependable, diligent, or loyal worker or someone who does a great service.
3. (historical) A former class of small freeholders who farm their own land; a commoner of good standing.
4. A subordinate, deputy, aide, or assistant.
5. A Yeoman Warder.
6. A clerk in the US Navy, and US Coast Guard.
7. (nautical) In a vessel of war, the person in charge of the storeroom.
8. A member of the Yeomanry Cavalry, officially chartered in 1794 originating around the 1760s.
9. A member of the Imperial Yeomanry, officially created in 1890s and renamed in 1907.
10. Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Cirrochroa, of Asia and Australasia.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• chief yeoman of the signals
• common yeoman
• good yeoman service
• king's yeoman
• navigator's yeoman
• queen's yeoman
• traveling yeoman
• yeoman archer
• yeoman of the king's pantry
• yeoman of the king's buttery
• yeoman of the horse or carriage
• yeoman usher of the black rod
• yeomanry
• yeomanry cavalry
• yeoman service, yeoman's service
• yeoman's job
• yeoman of the stores
• yeoman of the chamber
• yeomen of the crown
• yeomen of the guard
• yeowoman

Translations

official in a royal or high noble household

small freeholder

Bulgarian: йо́мен m (jómen) Chinese: Mandarin: 自耕農／自耕农 (zh) (zìgēngnóng) Dutch: kleine landeigenaar Finnish: talonpoika (fi) French: franc-tenancier (fr) m German: Freisasse m Russian: йо́мен (ru) m (jómen) Spanish: terrateniente (es) m

subordinate

Finnish: avustaja (fi) French: valet (fr) m Irish: gíománach m

Yeoman Warder — see Yeoman Warder

clerk in navy or coast guard

Bulgarian: писар (bg) m (pisar) Spanish: edecán (es) m or f

nautical: person in charge of the storeroom

Chinese: Mandarin: 文書軍士／文书军士 (wénshū jūnshì)

References

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”.
3. Thomas Sheridan (1790) A Complete Dictionary of the English Language, Both with Regard to Sound and Meaning‎, volume 2, C. Dilly

Further reading

• yeoman on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Yeoman in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

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French

Noun

yeoman m (plural yeomans)

1. yeoman

Derived terms

• yeomanerie

Further reading

• “yeoman”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from English yeoman.

Noun

yeoman m (plural yeomeni)

1. yeoman

Declension

Declension of yeoman

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) yeoman	yeomanul	(niște) yeomeni	yeomenii
genitive/dative	(unui) yeoman	yeomanului	(unor) yeomeni	yeomenilor
vocative	yeomanule		yeomenilor