yard English · revision 4467

+ English has two nouns spelled ''yard'': an enclosed piece of ground, from Old English geard, and a measure of three feet, from Old English gerd “rod, stick”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /jɑːd/, US /jɑːrd/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ {{homograph|1|ground}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=a. 1000|origins=gem-pro *gardaz}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|yerd]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|ġeard|t=fenced enclosure, garden, court; dwelling]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*gardaz]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) also the source of Old Norse garðr “yard, court”, Dutch gaard “garden” and Gothic gards “house”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) The related form *gardô gave German Garten and English [[garden]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Cresswell 2021) Watkins derives it from [[ine-pro|*gʰer-|alt=*gher-|t=to grasp, enclose]], whose derivatives outside Germanic include Russian gorod “town” and Lithuanian gardas “pen, enclosure”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021) It is also related to [[orchard]].^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A small open area attached to a house or other building: before 1000 in the OED.^(OED 1989) Old English geard also meant a garden, court, house or region.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ An enclosure in which animals are kept, or some work or business is carried on, is from about 1300 and the late 14th century,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) A college campus is from the 1630s, in American use,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) a prison exercise yard by 1777,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and a railway yard for making up trains from 1827.^(Etymonline) ''The Yard'' for Scotland Yard is from 1888.^(OED 1989) In Britain a yard is usually a paved area near a building, while in the United States it is the garden of a house.^(Cresswell 2021) In Jamaican English a yard is a house or home, and expatriate Jamaicans call Jamaica Yard, the source of ''Yardie''.^(Cresswell 2021) The ''yard sale'' is attested by 1965.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a. 1000 – an enclosed area by a house.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1300 – an enclosure for animals or storage.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1630s – a college campus.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1777 – a prison yard.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1827 – a railway yard.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1888 – ''the Yard'', Scotland Yard.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1965 – ''yard sale''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A piece of ground next to or surrounded by a building or buildings.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(US)'' The [[garden]] of a house.^(Collins 2023)^(Cresswell 2021)

+ # An enclosed area used for a particular work or business: ''a builder's yard''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An area where [[railway]] trains are made up and stored.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''the Yard'': [[Scotland Yard]].^(OED 1989)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[courtyard]]

+ * [[backyard]]

+ * [[farmyard]]

+ * [[graveyard]]

+ * [[shipyard]]

+ * [[churchyard]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|measure}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 950|origins=gem-pro *gazdijō}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|yerd]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) [[inh|ang|ġerd|t=rod, stick; a measure of length]] (Mercian), West Saxon gierd,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*gazdijō|t=stick, rod]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) also the source of Old High German gerta “switch, twig” (German Gerte).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) It was formed from *gazdaz, the source of Gothic gazds “sting” and Old Norse gaddr “spike”, and so of [[gad]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) Etymonline relates it to Latin hasta “shaft, staff”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A slender shoot or twig, and a stick or staff: about 950 and 1000 in the OED, senses now obsolete.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Anglo-Saxon times it was also a land measure of roughly five metres, later called a rod or pole;^(Etymonline) the yard of three feet is attested from late Old English,^(Etymonline) and as the standard measure for cloth especially from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) It has been the standard English unit of three feet since the later Middle Ages.^(Cresswell 2021) The nautical yard, the spar on which a square sail hangs, keeps the original sense “rod” and is from the late 13th century.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) The spelling yard is first recorded in Lydgate, probably before 1439.^(Barnhart 1988) ''Yardstick'' is from 1816, American English,^(Barnhart 1988) and ''yardage'' from 1877.^(Barnhart 1988) The phrase ''by the yard'', in great quantity, is figurative.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 950 – a twig, stick.^(OED 1989)

+ * late 13th century – a ship's yard.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1385 – yerd, a measure, in Chaucer.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1816 – ''yardstick''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1877 – ''yardage''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A unit of length equal to three [[foot|alt=feet]], or 0.9144 metre.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(nautical)'' A long [[spar]] slung across a mast to support a sail.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[yardstick]]

+ * [[yardarm]]

+ * [[yardage]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[garden]]

+ * [[orchard]]

+ * [[gad]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}