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 knights of the shire, and do any other act, where the law requires one that is probus et legalis homo [an upright and law-abiding man].” 1 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 394 (1765).
3. English law. One who owns and cultivates property.
4. A petty officer performing clerical work in the U.S. Navy. — Also sometimes spelled yoman.
