yard
/ˈjɑɹd/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.57 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A small, usually uncultivated area adjoining or (now especially) within the precincts of a house or other building.
noun
The property surrounding one's house, typically dominated by one's lawn.
Australian usage; Canadian usage; American usage
noun
A place where moose or deer herd together in winter for pasture, protection, etc.
noun
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).
noun
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).
Informal
Example Sentences
- "'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."
- "A little further on, to the right, was a large garage, where the charabancs stood, half in and half out of the yard."
- "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."
- "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"
- "As they reached the door, Bose, having yarded the cows, was stealing around the corner of the pig-sty, and making for the woods."
- "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."
Etymology
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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈjɑɹd/
- British English: /ˈjɑːd/
Usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
yardage
yardbird
yardfowl
yardful
yardhove
yarding
yardland
yardman
yardmaster
yardperson
yardsman
yardswoman