yard

yard
yard1
/yahrd/, n.
1. a common unit of linear measure in English-speaking countries, equal to 3 feet or 36 inches, and equivalent to 0.9144 meter.
2. Naut. a long spar, supported more or less at its center, to which the head of a square sail, lateen sail, or lugsail is bent.
3. yard-of-ale.
4. Informal. a large quantity or extent.
5. Slang. one hundred or, usually, one thousand dollars.
6. the whole nine yards, Informal.
a. everything that is pertinent, appropriate, or available.
b. in all ways; in every respect; all the way: If you want to run for mayor, I'll be with you the whole nine yards.
[bef. 900; ME yerd(e), OE (Anglian) gerd orig., straight twig; c. D gard, G Gerte rod]
yard2
/yahrd/, n.
1. the ground that immediately adjoins or surrounds a house, public building, or other structure.
2. an enclosed area outdoors, often paved and surrounded by or adjacent to a building; court.
3. an outdoor enclosure designed for the exercise of students, inmates, etc.: a prison yard.
4. an outdoor space surrounded by a group of buildings, as on a college campus.
5. a pen or other enclosure for livestock.
6. an enclosure within which any work or business is carried on (often used in combination): navy yard; a brickyard.
7. an outside area used for storage, assembly, or the like.
8. Railroads. a system of parallel tracks, crossovers, switches, etc., where cars are switched and made up into trains and where cars, locomotives, and other rolling stock are kept when not in use or when awaiting repairs.
9. a piece of ground set aside for cultivation; garden; field.
10. the winter pasture or browsing ground of moose and deer.
11. the Yard, Brit. See Scotland Yard (def. 2).
v.t.
12. to put into, enclose, or store in a yard.
[bef. 900; ME yerd, OE geard enclosure; c. D gaard garden, ON garthr yard, Goth gards house, L hortus garden, OIr gort field; akin to GARDEN]

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Unit of length equal to 36 inches, or 3 feet (see foot), in the U.S. Customary System or 0.

9144 metre in the International System of Units. A cloth yard, used to measure cloth, is 37 in. long; it was also the standard length for arrows. In casual speech, a yard (e.g., of concrete, gravel, or topsoil) may refer to a cubic yard.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • yard — yard …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • yard — [ jard ] n. m. • 1669; mot angl. ♦ Mesure de longueur anglo saxonne (0,914 m). ⇒ verge. ● yard nom masculin (anglais yard) Unité principale de longueur (symbole yd) du système de mesures coutumier dans les pays anglo saxons, valant 0,914 m. yard… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Yard — Yard, n. [OE. yard, yerd, AS. geard; akin to OFries. garda garden, OS. gardo garden, gard yard, D. gaard garden, G. garten, OHG. garto garden, gari inclosure, Icel. gar[eth]r yard, house, Sw. g[*a]rd, Dan. gaard, Goth. gards a house, garda… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Yard — 〈n.; s, s od. ; Abk.: yd.〉 engl. u. nordamerikanisches Längenmaß, 0,91 m [engl., „Gerte, Messrute“; verwandt mit Gerte] * * * Yard [engl.: jɑ:d ], das; s, s <aber: 4 Yard[s]> [engl. yard, eigtl. = Maßstab; Rute]: Längeneinheit in… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • yard — yard1 [yärd] n. [ME yerde < OE gierd, rod, staff, yard measure, akin to obs. Ger gerte, rod < IE * g̑hazdho , var. of base * ghasto , rod, pole > L hasta, pole, spear] 1. a) a unit of length in the FPS system, equal to 3 feet or 36… …   English World dictionary

  • Yard — Yard, n. [OE. yerd, AS. gierd, gyrd, a rod, stick, a measure, a yard; akin to OFries. ierde, OS. gerda, D. garde, G. gerte, OHG. gartia, gerta, gart, Icel. gaddr a goad, sting, Goth. gazds, and probably to L. hasta a spear. Cf. {Gad}, n., {Gird} …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • yard — W2S2 [ja:d US ja:rd] n ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(measure)¦ 2¦(enclosed area)¦ 3¦(garden)¦ 4¦(back of house)¦ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ [Sense: 1; Origin: Old English geard, gierd stick ] [Sense: 2 4; Origin: Old E …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • yard — Ⅰ. yard [1] ► NOUN 1) a unit of linear measure equal to 3 feet (0.9144 metre). 2) a square or cubic yard, especially of sand or other building materials. 3) a cylindrical spar slung across a ship s mast for a sail to hang from. ● by the yard Cf.… …   English terms dictionary

  • Yard — Yard, v. t. To confine (cattle) to the yard; to shut up, or keep, in a yard; as, to yard cows. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • yard — [ jard ] noun count *** 1. ) AMERICAN an area around a house that is used for sitting, playing, and growing plants in. British garden a ) an enclosed area around a large building where people can do activities outside: a school/prison yard b ) a… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • yard — ‘enclosed area’ [OE] and yard ‘three feet’ [OE] are distinct words, both of ancient ancestry. The former probably goes back ultimately to Indo European *ghorto , which also produced Latin cohors ‘court’ (source of English cohort and court) and… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

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