yeoman

[ yoh-muhn ]

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.
3. History/Historical. one of a class of lesser freeholders, below the gentry, who cultivated their own land, early admitted in England to political rights.
4. Archaic.
   1. a servant, attendant, or subordinate official in a royal or other great household.
   2. 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.

yeoman

/ ˈjəʊmən /

noun

1. history
   1. a member of a class of small freeholders of common birth who cultivated their own land
   2. an assistant or other subordinate to an official, such as a sheriff, or to a craftsman or trader
   3. an attendant or lesser official in a royal or noble household
2. (in Britain) another name for yeoman of the guard
3. modifier characteristic of or relating to a yeoman
4. a petty officer or noncommissioned officer in the Royal Navy or Marines in charge of signals

Word History and Origins

Origin of yeoman¹

1300–50; Middle English yeman, yoman, probably reduced forms of yengman, yongman, yungman, with similar sense; young, man

Word History and Origins

Origin of yeoman¹

C15: perhaps from yongman young man

Example Sentences

That’s a fundamental concern of sculpture in every artistic age and culture — its brass ring, if you will — and here it does yeoman’s work in energizing spaces both actual and illusionistic.

From Los Angeles Times

Coast Guard, serving as a yeoman first class from 1955 to 1959 before coming to the Pacific Northwest to pursue his education.

From Seattle Times

The yeoman is shown in TikTok videos on his @harpydaniels account lip-syncing and dancing seductively while wearing outrageous female wigs, makeup and costumes.

From Washington Times

Federalists, typified by Manhattanite Alexander Hamilton, desired a restless, churning urban nation and opposed the Jeffersonian vision of a republic of rural yeomen.

From Washington Post

A decade later, after what colleagues and constituents called the senator’s yeoman service as an advocate on health and environmental issues, a hidden side of Mr. Durenberger began to surface.

From New York Times