a landowner (14th and 15th centuries) who was free but not of noble birth, Formerly, in England, a freeholder; a yeoman; originally, a person distinguished from the common freeholder by the extent of his possessions, and by his eligibility to the dignities of sheriff, knight of the shire, etc; in later times, a small landholder, A medieval English freeholder of nonnoble birth holding extensive property

Worthiness or fitness to be chosen; the state or quality of a thing which renders it desirable or preferable to another, The state, quality, or the fact of being eligible, the quality or state of being eligible