yard

Etymology 1

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 Dutch gaard, obsolete German Gart, German Garten, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål gård, Norwegian Nynorsk gard, Lithuanian gardas (“pen, enclosure”), Russian го́род (górod, “town”), Serbo-Croatian and Slovene grad ("town"), Albanian gardh (“fence”), Romanian gard, Avestan 𐬔𐬆𐬭𐬆𐬛𐬵𐬀 (gərədha, “dev's cave”), Sanskrit गृह (gṛha)), Medieval Latin gardinus, jardinus. Doublet of garden.

noun

1. 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. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients
2. (US, Canada, Australia) The property surrounding one's house, typically dominated by one's lawn.
3. An enclosed 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
4. A place where moose or deer herd together in winter for pasture, protection, etc.
5. (Jamaica, MLE) 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 2020-12-15, “We Paid (Remix)”, performed by #GS28 Goose, 0:15–0:21

verb

1. (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

Etymology 2

From Middle English ȝerde, yerd, ȝerd, 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”).

noun

1. 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. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients
2. Units of similar composition or length in other systems.
3. (nautical) Any spar carried aloft.
   1. (nautical) 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 latter two hang obliquely.
4. (obsolete) A branch, twig, or shoot.
5. (obsolete) A staff, rod, or stick.
6. (obsolete, medicine) A penis.
   [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
7. (US, slang, uncommon) 100 dollars.
8. (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
9. (obsolete) The rod, a surveying unit of (once) 15 or (now) 16+¹⁄₂ feet.
10. (obsolete) The rood, area bound by a square rod, ¹⁄₄ acre.

verb

1. (intransitive, humorous) 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 3

Clipping of milliard.

noun

1. (finance) 10⁹, A short scale billion; a long scale thousand millions or milliard.
   I need to hedge a yard of yen.