Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *gʰerdʰ-
Proto-Indo-European *-os
Proto-Indo-European *gʰórdʰos
Proto-Germanic *gardaz
Proto-West Germanic *gard
Old English ġeard
Middle English yerd
English yard
From Middle English yerd, yard, ȝerd, ȝeard, from Old English ġeard (“yard, garden, fence, enclosure”), from Proto-West Germanic *gard, from Proto-Germanic *gardaz (“enclosure, yard”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰórdʰos, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰerdʰ- (“to enclose”).
See also North Frisian guard, Guart (“garden, yard”), Dutch gaard, gaarde (“garden, yard”), German Garten (“garden, yard”), Danish, Swedish gård (“farm, estate, land; court, yard”), Faroese, Icelandic garður (“garden; fence”), Norn gart (“farm”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk gard, gård (“farm; townhouse”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐍂𐌳𐍃 (gards, “court, yard; house”), Lithuanian gardas (“pen, enclosure”), Russian го́род (górod, “town”), Serbo-Croatian grad (“town”), Slovene grad (“castle”), Albanian gardh (“fence”), Romanian gard (“fence”), Avestan 𐬔𐬆𐬭𐬆𐬛𐬵𐬀 (gərədha, “dev's cave”), Sanskrit गृह (gṛha, “house, habitation, home, dwelling”)), Medieval Latin gardinus, jardinus (“garden, yard”). Doublet of garden, garth, and gord.
Meanings
A small, usually uncultivated area adjoining or (now especially) within the precincts of a house or other building.
'Twas early June, the new grass was flourishing everywheres, the posies in the yard—peonies and such—in full bloom, the sun was shining, and the water of the bay was blue, with light green streaks where the shoal showed. 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
(Australia, Canada, US) The property surrounding one's house, typically dominated by one's lawn.
An enclosed outdoors area designated for a specific purpose, e.g. on farms, railways etc.
A little further on, to the right, was a large garage, where the charabancs stood, half in and half out of the yard. 1931, Francis Beeding, “2/2”, in Death Walks in Eastrepps:
Pilton Yard, the Lynton & Barnstaple headquarters, has been taken over by a fur trading firm, and would-be trespassers to the old engine-shed are turned back by the pungent odour of heaps of carcases. 1951 February, “Notes and News: Lynton & Barnstaple Remains”, in Railway Magazine, page 136:
A place where moose or deer herd together in winter for pasture, protection, etc.
(Jamaica, Multicultural-London-English) One’s house or home.
Man’s devilish cunt, tell me nutting about friends, that’s dead
Cuz I run up in yards,
No vest, tryna ching man’s chest
And leave him dead 2020 December 15, “We Paid (Remix)”, performed by #GS28 Goose, 0:15–0:21:
th สนาม (land around a house) · vi sân (enclosed area for a specific purpose) · cop ⲟⲛϩ (land around a house) · nrf bel (enclosed area for a specific purpose) · ga clós (enclosed area for a specific purpose) · got 𐌲𐌰𐍂𐌳𐍃 (land around a house) · sq bahçe (land around a house) · pnt αυλαία (land around a house) · pt quintal (land around a house) · uk двір (land around a house) · sq gardh (land around a house) · ar حَدِيقَة (land around a house) · cop ⲟⲛϩ (enclosed area for a specific purpose) · cmn 庭院 (land around a house) · hu udvar (land around a house) · ko 마당 (land around a house) · wa coû (land around a house) · sq kurt (land around a house) · ota آولی (land around a house) · et õu (land around a house) · ko 뜰 (land around a house) · ast portalada (land around a house) · he חָצֵר (land around a house) · nl erf (land around a house) · hu telep (enclosed area for a specific purpose) · tyz cai (land around a house) · pt cercado (land around a house) · sh дво̀рӣште (land around a house) · ca pati (land around a house) · ru дво́рик (land around a house) · be двор (land around a house) · sq gardh (enclosed area for a specific purpose) · fi -tarha (enclosed area for a specific purpose) · ce керт (land around a house) · sq oborr (land around a house) · es yadra (land around a house) · bg двор (land around a house) · cic kasbi (enclosed area for a specific purpose) · gl cercado (enclosed area for a specific purpose) · sv tomt (land around a house) · bg депо (enclosed area for a specific purpose) · gl eira (land around a house) · pl podwórko (land around a house) · ro curte (land around a house) · es yarda (land around a house) · nrf bel (land around a house) · da gård (enclosed area for a specific purpose) · sk dvor (land around a house) · ka ეზო (land around a house) · sh àvlija (land around a house) · fi piha (enclosed area for a specific purpose) · sv gård (land around a house) · sl dvorišče (land around a house) · alt тӱнӱк (land around a house) · sc apitu (land around a house) · kmr hewş (land around a house) · vo yad (land around a house) · gl resío (land around a house) · tyz coo̱ng (land around a house) · cs dvorek (land around a house) · cic kasbi (land around a house) · th ลาน (land around a house) · hu előkert (land around a house) · my အိမ်ဝင်း (land around a house) · de Hof (land around a house) · vi sân (land around a house) · izh tanvas (land around a house) · hu kert (land around a house) · izh kartano (land around a house) · eo korto (land around a house) · uk подві́р'я (land around a house) · lv pagalms (land around a house) · da gård (land around a house) · ast antoxana (land around a house) · gl quinteiro (land around a house) · es patio (land around a house) · fa حیاط (land around a house) · sh dvòrīšte (land around a house) · sv trädgård (land around a house) · pap curá (land around a house) · fi piha (land around a house) · km ទីធ្លា (land around a house) · pl podwórze (land around a house) · my ဝင်းခြံ (land around a house) · it cortile (land around a house) · el αυλή (land around a house) · ru двор (land around a house) · pdt Hoff (nds) (land around a house) · nb gård (land around a house) · cs dvůr (land around a house) · cmn 院子 (land around a house) · la ārea (land around a house) · sh а̀влија (land around a house) · izh tarha (enclosed area for a specific purpose) · pt pátio (land around a house) · el προαύλιο (land around a house) · tr avlu (land around a house) · hy բակ (land around a house) · rup curti (land around a house) · zza isig (land around a house) · ja 庭 (land around a house) · mk двор (land around a house) · be дво́рык (land around a house) · ja 置き場 (enclosed area for a specific purpose) · oc pati (land around a house) · hi प्रांगण (enclosed area for a specific purpose) · bar Huaf (land around a house) · ko 울안 (enclosed area for a specific purpose) · uk дво́рик (land around a house) · hi बाड़ा (land around a house) · fr cour (land around a house) · lt kiemas (land around a house) · gl eido (land around a house) · hi आँगन (enclosed area for a specific purpose) · fr jardin (land around a house)
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *gʰerdʰ-
Proto-Indo-European *-os
Proto-Indo-European *gʰórdʰos
Proto-Germanic *gardaz
Proto-West Germanic *gard
Old English ġeard
Middle English yerd
English yard
From Middle English yerd, yard, ȝerd, ȝeard, from Old English ġeard (“yard, garden, fence, enclosure”), from Proto-West Germanic *gard, from Proto-Germanic *gardaz (“enclosure, yard”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰórdʰos, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰerdʰ- (“to enclose”).
See also North Frisian guard, Guart (“garden, yard”), Dutch gaard, gaarde (“garden, yard”), German Garten (“garden, yard”), Danish, Swedish gård (“farm, estate, land; court, yard”), Faroese, Icelandic garður (“garden; fence”), Norn gart (“farm”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk gard, gård (“farm; townhouse”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐍂𐌳𐍃 (gards, “court, yard; house”), Lithuanian gardas (“pen, enclosure”), Russian го́род (górod, “town”), Serbo-Croatian grad (“town”), Slovene grad (“castle”), Albanian gardh (“fence”), Romanian gard (“fence”), Avestan 𐬔𐬆𐬭𐬆𐬛𐬵𐬀 (gərədha, “dev's cave”), Sanskrit गृह (gṛha, “house, habitation, home, dwelling”)), Medieval Latin gardinus, jardinus (“garden, yard”). Doublet of garden, garth, and gord.
Meanings
(transitive) To confine to a yard.
As they reached the door, Bose, having yarded the cows, was stealing around the corner of the pig-sty, and making for the woods. 1893, Elijah Kellogg, Good old times, or, Grandfather's struggles for a homestead:
The sheep were straggling in a manner that meant walking work to round them, and he supposed he would have to yard them tonight, if she didn't liven up. 1902, Barbara Baynton, edited by Sally Krimmer and Alan Lawson, Bush Studies (Portable Australian Authors: Barbara Baynton), St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, published 1980, page 14:
From Middle English yerde, yerd, ȝerde, from Old English ġierd (“branch; rod, staff; measuring stick; yardland”), from Proto-West Germanic *gaʀd, from Proto-Germanic *gazdaz. Cognate with Dutch gard (“twig”), German Gerte and probably related to Latin hasta (“spear”).
Meanings
A unit of length equal to 3 feet in the US customary and British imperial systems of measurement, equal to precisely 0.9144 m since 1959 (US) or 1963 (UK).
Thinks I to myself, “Sol, you're run off your course again. This is a rich man's summer ‘cottage’[…].” So I started to back away again into the bushes. But I hadn't backed more'n a couple of yards when I see something so amazing that I couldn't help scooching down behind the bayberries and looking at it. 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
(abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, informal) A unit of length equal to 3 feet in the US customary and British imperial systems of measurement, equal to precisely 0.9144 m since 1959 (US) or 1963 (UK). ▸ Ellipsis of square yard, a unit of area; common with textiles.
(abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, informal) A unit of length equal to 3 feet in the US customary and British imperial systems of measurement, equal to precisely 0.9144 m since 1959 (US) or 1963 (UK). ▸ Ellipsis of cubic yard, a unit of volume; common in mining and earthmoving.
Units of similar composition or length in other systems.
Any spar carried aloft.
Any spar carried aloft. ▸ A long tapered timber hung on a mast to which is bent a sail, and may be further qualified as a square, lateen, or lug yard. The first is hung at right angles to the mast, the last two hang obliquely.
(obsolete) A branch, twig, or shoot.
(obsolete) A staff, rod, or stick.
(obsolete) A penis.
Loues her by the foot. Dum. He may not by the yard. c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:
there were some people found who tooke pleasure to unhood the end of their yard, and to cut off the fore-skinne after the manner of the Mahometans and Jewes[…]. 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 12, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:
[T]he testicles are quite exposed, but they wrap a piece of cloth or leafe round the yard which they tye up to the belly to a cord or bandage which they wear round the waist just under the short ribbs and over the belly and so tight that it was a wonder to us how they could endure it. 1774, James Cook, The Journals, Second Voyage, 23 July
(US, slang, uncommon) 100 dollars.
(obsolete) The yardland, an obsolete English unit of land roughly understood as 30 acres.
You must note, that two Fardells of Land make a Nooke of Land, and two Nookes make halfe a Yard of Land. a. 1634, W. Noye, The Complete Lawyer, section 57:
(obsolete) The rod, a surveying unit of (once) 15 or (now) 16+¹⁄₂ feet.
(obsolete) The rood, area bound by a square rod, ¹⁄₄ acre.
(qualifier:obsolete outside of fossil forms) A tall, slender, hollow receptacle or tool.
From Middle English yerde, yerd, ȝerde, from Old English ġierd (“branch; rod, staff; measuring stick; yardland”), from Proto-West Germanic *gaʀd, from Proto-Germanic *gazdaz. Cognate with Dutch gard (“twig”), German Gerte and probably related to Latin hasta (“spear”).
Meanings
(humorous, intransitive) To move a yard at a time, as opposed to inching along.
He inched his way up the corridor as if he would rather be yarding his way down it, which was true. 1982, Douglas Adams, Life, the Universe and Everything, page 62:
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *sem-
Proto-Indo-European *sm̥-
Proto-Indo-European *-is
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-ih₂
Proto-Indo-European *smih₂
Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰes-
Proto-Indo-European *-lom
Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰéslom
▲
Proto-Indo-European *-ih₂
Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰéslih₂
Proto-Indo-European *smih₂ǵʰéslih₂
Proto-Italic *smīɣeslī
Latin mīlle
Italian mille
Proto-Indo-European *-ōder.
Proto-Indo-European *-Hōder.?
Latin -ōnem
Italian -one
Italian milionebor.
Old French million
Middle French million
French million
Proto-Indo-European *kret-der.?
Proto-Germanic *harduz
Frankish *-hardbor.
Old French -art
Middle French [Term?]
French -ard
French milliardbor.
English milliardclip.
English yard
Clipping of milliard.
Meanings
10⁹, A short scale billion; a long scale thousand millions or milliard.
I need to hedge a yard of yen.
(slang) One hundred, usually referring to currency or money's worth.