Yeoman
Dictionary of Terms and Phrases Used in American or English Jurisprudence · Benjamin Vaughan Abbott · 1879
Dictionary of Terms and Phrases Used in American or English Jurisprudence
A degree or grade in England, next in order to that of the gentry. The word etymologically means a common man, i.e. commoner. Yeoman also designates an ofiicer of the queen's household, holding a middle place between sergeant and groom. Also, there are yeomen of the queen's guard, being a body of soldiers first estab Ushed in the reign of Henry VIII. Brown, Yeomanry. The small freeholders and farmers. Hall. Const. Hist. ch.
1.
The term is also applied to certain local forces raised by individuals, with the approbation of the queen, who accepts their voluntary service.