Etymology

yeoman

Y4E1O1M3A1N1

Today it means: An official providing honorable service in a royal or high noble household, ranking between a squire and a page. Especially, a yeoman of the guard, a member of a ceremonial bodyguard to the UK monarch (not to be confused with a Yeoman Warder). Full definition →

Middle English yeman ← Old English *ġēamann ← Proto-West Germanic *gawamann
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yeoman · noun1

  1. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*gawamann
  2. Old English · inherited from*ġēamann
  3. Middle English · inherited fromyeman
  4. English todayyeoman

From Middle English yeman, yoman, of disputed etymology: * From Old English *ġēamann, from Proto-West Germanic *gawamann, variant of *gauwjamann (compare Old Frisian gāman (“villager”), Middle High German göuman (“peasant”)), compound of Proto-West Germanic *gawi (“shire, district”) (compare Old English -ġē, -ġēa (“district, region”) (in ælġē, Sūþriġēa), West Frisian gea, goa, Dutch gouw, German Gau) + *mann (“man”). * A contraction of yong man; compare dialectal yeomath (“aftermath”) for a possible parallel.

Yeoman · proper noun2

From yeoman.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.