Where does “yeoman” come from?

Yeoman comes from Middle English yoman, from Old English ġēamann, formed from Old English ġē combined with a word ultimately deriving from Proto-Indo-European h₂ekʷeh₂.

yeoman (English): An official providing honorable service in a...

Definitions

  1. An official providing honorable service in a...

Ancestry of “yeoman”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishyemanA subordinate, deputy, or hireling
2Old Englishġēamannyeoman
3Old Englishġēye
4Proto-Germanicjahwand, also
5Proto-Germanic-hwand; Forms distributives from interrogatives
6Proto-Germanic-hwe—
7Proto-Indo-European-kʷeand; Forms distributives from interrogatives

Words derived from “yeoman”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European -kʷe →