yeoman (yoh-m[schwa]n). 1. Hist. An attendant in a royal or noble household. 2. Hist. A commoner; a free-holder (under the rank of gentleman) who holds land yielding 40 shillings per year. “A yeoman is he that hath free land of forty shillings by the year; who was thereby qualified to serve on juries, vote for […]
corruption of blood. A defunct doctrine, now considered unconstitutional, under which a person loses the ability to inherit or pass property as a result of an attainder or of being declared civilly dead. — Also termed corruption of the blood. See ATTAINDER; civil death (1) under DEATH. “Corruption of blood is, when any one is
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