yeoman

/ˈjəʊ.mən/

//ˈjəʊ.mən// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"yeoman" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“yeoman” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #41,482. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#41,482
frequency rank, English
366
“Y” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - 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 mona...

Corpus desk

Index EN-yeoman · yeoman · English

yeoman · rank #41,482 · 8 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #41,482
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 366
  • PHOTO-FINISH Yeezy

Nearest frequency peer: Yeezy (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “yeoman”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “yeoman” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

yeoman vs Yemen
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for yeoman
PropertyValue
Headwordyeoman
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈjəʊ.mən/
Letters6
Frequency rank#41,482
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “yeoman”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).yeomanlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Yeezy” (#41,481), “you's” (#41,483), “yuk” (#41,484). Among 366 “Y” headwords, “yeoman” is #41,482. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around yeoman (IPA /ˈjəʊ.mən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #41,482 among 366 “Y” headwords. Wiktionary lists 10 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for yeoman, with forms such as "eyoman", "yemoan", and "yeoamn". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "Yemen", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English yoman, yeman, from Old English *ġēamann, from Proto-West Germanic *gauwjamann (compare Old Frisian gāman (“villager”), Middle High German göuman (“peasant”)), compound of Proto-West Germanic *gawi (“shire, district”) (compare Old English… The correct English form is yeoman, spelled Y-E-O-M-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    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).
  2. 2
    A dependable, diligent, or loyal worker or someone who does a great service.
  3. 3
    A former class of small freeholders who farm their own land; a commoner of good standing.
  4. 4
    A subordinate, deputy, aide, or assistant.
  5. 5
    A Yeoman Warder.
  6. 6
    A clerk in the US Navy, and US Coast Guard.
  7. 7
    In a vessel of war, the person in charge of the storeroom.
  8. 8
    A member of the Yeomanry Cavalry, officially chartered in 1794 originating around the 1760s.
  9. 9
    A member of the Imperial Yeomanry, officially created in 1890s and renamed in 1907.
  10. 10
    Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Cirrochroa, of Asia and Australasia.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how yeoman appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. This model of production costs might alternatively be derived from a yeoman farmer model, in which households supply goods directly[.]

Etymology

From Middle English yoman, yeman, from Old English *ġēamann, from Proto-West Germanic *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”).

This word in other languages

terrateniente(Español)franc-tenancier(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eyoman
  • yemoan
  • yeoamn
  • yeomann
  • yeomman
  • yeomna
  • yoeman
  • yyeoman

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of yeoman - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

eyoman2yemoan2yeoamn2yeomann1yeomman1yeomna2yoeman2yyeoman1
Edit distance from "yeoman"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "yeoman"?
"yeoman" is spelled Y-E-O-M-A-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈjəʊ.mən/.
What does "yeoman" mean?
As a noun, "yeoman" 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 mona...
What words are commonly confused with "yeoman"?
"yeoman" is commonly confused with "Yemen". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "yeoman"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "yeoman" is /ˈjəʊ.mən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "yeoman"?
From Middle English yoman, yeman, from Old English *ġēamann, from Proto-West Germanic *gauwjamann (compare Old Frisian gāman (“villager”), Middle High German göuman (“peasant”)), compound of Proto-West Germanic *gawi (“shire, district”) (compare O... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "yeoman", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

winkle#41,474waring#41,467Allman#41,499allude#41,500

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

animus8 variantsAnubis8 variantsunread8 variantsawning8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list