yeomanry

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English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English ȝemanry, yemandry, yema[n]ri, yemanrye, yomandrye, yomanry; equivalent to yeoman +‎ -ry.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

yeomanry (plural yeomanries)

  1. (historical) A class of small freeholders who cultivated their own land.
    • 1834–1874, George Bancroft, History of the United States, from the Discovery of the American Continent, volume (please specify |volume=I to X), Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company [et al.], →OCLC:
      The enfranchised yeomanry began to feel an instinct for dominion.
  2. A British volunteer cavalry force organized in 1761 for home defense and later incorporated into the Territorial Army.

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