yeomanry

This term describes a specific social stratum of independent farmers who owned their land rather than renting it. It carries a connotation of stability, self-reliance, and a middle-class rural identity that bridged the gap between the peasantry and the landed gentry.

Grammatically, the word functions as a collective noun. While it refers to a group, it is treated as a plural entity in usage, particularly when referring to the people within the class or the members of the cavalry force, often taking a plural verb as seen in phrases like the yeomanry were.