yeomanries

Noun

yeomanry (plural yeomanries)

1. (historical) A class of small freeholders who cultivated their own land.
   • The enfranchised yeomanry began to feel an instinct for dominion.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
2. A British volunteer cavalry force organized in 1761 for home defense and later incorporated into the Territorial Army.