Definition of: yeoman

(yō′mən) noun plural ·men (-mən)
1. Brit. A freeholder next under the rank of gentleman; in early times, one who owned a small landed estate; in modern usage, a farmer, especially one who cultivates his own farm; loosely, a man of the common people.
2. A petty officer in the U. S. Navy, Coast Guard, or Army Transport Service, who performs clerical duties.
3. Brit. One of the higher–class attendants in the service of a nobleman or of royalty: a yeoman of the crown; sometimes, a servitor of lower rank: a yeoman of the chamber, the buttery, etc.
4. Brit. A member of the yeomanry cavalry; also, a Yeoman of the (Royal) Guard.
5. Obs. One who acts as an assistant in a subordinate capacity; a helper; journeyman. [ME yeman, yoman, prob. contraction of yengman a young man <OE geong young + mann a man]