yard

Dictionary: yard1   (yärd)

1. (Abbr. yd.) A fundamental unit of length in both the U.S. Customary System and the British Imperial System, equal to 3 feet, or 36 inches (0.9144 meter).
2. Nautical. A long tapering spar slung to a mast to support and spread the head of a square sail, lugsail, or lateen.

[Middle English yerde, stick, unit of measure, from Old English gerd.]

For more information on yard, visit Britannica.com.

That part of a building plot not occupied by the building, open to the sky.

1. a unit of linear measure, 3 feet, or 36 inches, equivalent to 86.44 cm.
2. a small fenced enclosure called also corral.
3. in the UK is synonymous with feedlot.
4. to enclose animals in a small enclosure.

To convert from yards to:

centimeters, multiply by 91.44.
fathom, multiply by 0.5.
foot, multiply by 3.
inches, multiply by 36.
kilometers, multiply by 9.144E-04.
meters, multiply by .9144.
miles (nautical), multiply by 4.93737E-04.
miles (statute), multiply by 5.681818E-04.
millimeters, multiply by 914.4.

For other uses, see Yard (disambiguation).

1 yard =

SI units
0.91440 m	914.40 mm
US customary / Imperial units
3.0000 ft	36.000 in

Standard lengths on the wall of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, London - 1 yard (3 feet), 2 feet, 1 foot, 6 inches (1/2 foot), and 3 inches. The separation of the inside faces of the markers is exact at an ambient temperature of 60 °F (16 °C) and a rod of the correct measure, resting on the pins, will fit snugly between them.^[1][2]

This derivation of the Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci, depicts nine historical units of measurement: the Yard, the Span, the Cubit, the Flemish Ell, the English Ell, the French Ell, the Fathom, the Hand, and the Foot. The Vitruvian man was drawn to scale, so the units depicted are displayed with their proper historical ratios.

A yard (abbreviation: yd) is a unit of length in several different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. It is equal to 3 feet or 36 inches, although its length in SI units varied slightly from system to system. The most commonly used yard today is the international yard, which is equal to 0.9144 meter.

The yard is used as the standard unit of field-length measurement in American, Canadian and association football.

There are corresponding units of area and volume, the square yard and cubic yard respectively, and these are sometimes referred to simply as "yards" when no ambiguity is possible. For example, an American or Canadian concrete mixer marked with a capacity of "11 yards" or "1.5 yards", where cubic yards are obviously referred to.

Contents 1 Equivalence to other units of length 2 Historical origin 3 References 4 See also

Equivalence to other units of length

1 international yard is equal to:

• 3 feet (1 foot is a third of a yard)
• 36 inches
• 0.9144 meter (1 meter is equal to about 1.0936 international yards)

The early yard was divided by the binary method into two, four, eight, and sixteen parts called the half-yard, span, finger, and nail. Two yards are a fathom.

Historical origin

The yard derives its name from the word for a straight branch or rod,^[3] although the precise origin of the measure is not definitely known. Some believe it derived from the double cubit, or that it originated from cubic measure, others from its near equivalents, like the length of a stride or pace. One postulate was that the yard was derived from the girth of a person's waist, while another claim held that the measure was invented by Henry I of England as being the distance between the tip of his nose and the end of his thumb.^[4] It was first defined in law by Edward I of England in 1305,^[5][6][7] and again by Edward III of England in 1353.^[8]

Following the destruction of the British Standard Yard in the 1834 fire at the Palace of Westminster, consideration was given to a reproduceable standard should the physical measure be lost again. The Weights and Measures Act 1855 Act was passed defining the standard yard based upon the length of a seconds pendulum.^[9] This is 39.1392 inches, and can be derived from the number of beats (86,400) between two meridians of the sun. The 36-inch yard was defined accordingly. The temperature compensated pendulum was to be held in a vacuum at sea level in Greenwich, London to give the length of the standard yard.^[10] However, a new physical Imperial Standard Yard was authorised by the Weights and Measures Act 1878,^[11] and was the legal standard in the United Kingdom until 1964.

References

1. ^ Bennett, Keith (2004), Bucher, Jay L., ed., The Metrology Handbook, Milwaukee, WI: American Society for Quality Measurement, p. 8, ISBN 978-0-87389-620-7 .
2. ^ Walford, Edward (1878), Old and New London, VI, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45276 .
3. ^ "yard²", A New Dictionary of English on Historical Principles, 10b, Oxford: University Press, 1928, pp. 16–17 .
4. ^ Hone, William (1839), The Every-day Book and Table Book, London: R. Griffin & Co., p. 378, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=IzoHAAAAQAAJ .
5. ^ 33 Edw. I, c. 6.
6. ^ Bigg, P. H.; Anderton, Pamela, "The Yard Unit of Length", Nature 200: 730–32, doi:10.1038/200730a0 
7. ^ Watson, C. M. (1910), British Weights and Measures, London: John Murray, pp. 36–39, http://www.archive.org/details/britishweightsme00watsuoft .
8. ^ 27 Edw. III, c. 10.
9. ^ 18&19 Vic., c. 72.
10. ^ Bunch, Bryan H.; Hellemans, Alexander (1988), The Timetables of Science, Siimon & Schuster, ISBN 0671621300, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=qg0PAAAACAAJ .
11. ^ Glazebrook, Richard (1922), "Measurement, Units of", Dictionary of Applied Physics, 1, pp. 580-88, http://www.archive.org/details/dictionaryofappl025484mbp .

See also

• anthropic units
• English unit
• Imperial unit
• Guz, the yard of the Middle East
• United States customary units
• Vara

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - yard, 3 fod = 0,914 meter

idioms:

• by the yard    efter mål

2.
n. - have, Scotland Yard, gård, gårdsplads, oplagsplads, værft, sporterræn
v. tr. - oplagre træ
v. intr. - samle hjord af elge til vinteren

idioms:

• yard sale    garagesalg, loppemarked

Nederlands (Dutch)
yard (91, 4 centimeter), kubieke yard (0, 765 kubieke meter), binnenplaats, tuin, emplacement, ra, (mv) grote hoeveelheid, (winter)kwartier (van herten), naar de winterkwartieren gaan (dieren), bijeendrijven (op afgeperkt terrein), opslaan (van hout)

Français (French)
1.
n. - (Mes) yard (= 91,44 cm), (fig) place, cour, des pages et des pages

idioms:

• by the yard    à n'en plus finir, des pages et des pages

2.
n. - cour, (US) jardin, (GB) La Sûreté (fam), (Comm, Constr) dépôt, chantier, (Naut) vergue
v. tr. - ranger ou transporter (du bois) dans un chantier de bois
v. intr. - mettre (des troupeaux d'élans) à l'abri pendant l'hiver

idioms:

• the Yard    (GB) La Sûreté, police judiciaire britannique
• yard sale    (US) brocante (tenue dans sa propre cour)

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Yard

idioms:

• by the yard    meterweise, am laufenden Band

2.
n. - Hof, Garten, Gelände, Werkplatz, Rahe
v. - auf dem Viehhof einsperren

idioms:

• the Yard    (BrE.) Scotland Yard, der
• yard sale    Flohmarkt

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - γιάρδα (0.914 μ.), αυλή, περίβολος, προαύλιο, υπαίθρια αποθήκη, μάντρα, αντένα, κεραία (πλοίου)
v. - κλείνω σε περίβολο
abbr. - Σκότλαντ Γιαρντ

idioms:

• by the yard    με τη γιάρδα
• yard sale    (ΗΠΑ) ξεπούλημα μεταχειρισμένων ειδών νοικοκυριού

Italiano (Italian)
cortile, yard, iarda, giardino, corte, cantiere, pennone

idioms:

• by the yard    di gran lunga
• yard sale    vendita di usati in cortile

Português (Portuguese)
n. - jarda (f), terreno (m), depósito (m)
v. - por em um local cercado
abbr. - Scotland Yard

idioms:

• by the yard    ao metro
• yard sale    venda de objetos usados de uma casa

Русский (Russian)
ярд, двор, сад, огород, склад, загонять скотину

idioms:

• by the yard    на всем протяжении, в больших количествах
• yard sale    распродажа домашнего имущества на дому

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - yarda, verga

idioms:

• by the yard    por yardas

2.
n. - patio, corral, jardín, terreno, almacén, depósito, Sctoland Yard
v. tr. - almacenar o transportar madera en o a un aserradero
v. intr. - reunir, agrupar

idioms:

• the Yard    Scotland Yard
• yard sale    venta de garaje, feria americana, ventuta

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - inhägnad, gård, trädgård (am.), område, varv, stationsplan, utfodringsplats, yard (ung 1 meter), rå (sjö.)
v. - stänga in
abbr. - Scotland Yard

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
码, 工作场, 庭院, 后院, 把...赶入圈栏, 冬令集居, 赶入圈栏

idioms:

• by the yard    冗长地, 没完没了地
• yard sale    庭院旧物拍卖

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
n. - 後院
v. tr. - 把...趕入圈欄
v. intr. - 冬令集居

idioms:

• by the yard    冗長地, 沒完沒了地
• yard sale    庭院舊物拍賣

2.
n. - 碼

한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - 야드(길이의 단위)

idioms:

• by the yard    1야드에, ~의 값으로, 장황하게

2.
n. - 안마당, 구내, 일터
v. tr. - 울 안에 넣다, ~에 비축하다
v. intr. - (뜰에) 모이다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - ヤード, ヤール, 一立法ヤード, 帆げた, 庭, 中庭, 構内, 仕事場, 製造場, 操車場

idioms:

• by the yard    詳細に, 長々と
• yard sale    中古家庭用品セール

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) ساحه, فناء, ياردة ( وحدة قياس, تساوي 40 سم), حظيرة (فعل) ادخل المواشي الى الحظيرة‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮מידת אורך (19 ס"מ), קורת רוחב עגולה לתליית מפרש על התורן‬
n. - ‮חצר, מגרש, מחסן, חלקת- אדמה לא מעובדת ליד הבית, גינה מאחורי הבית, מכלאת צאן או בקר, סקוטלנד יארד - הבולשת הבריטית‬
v. tr. - ‮אחסן עצים או העבירם לקרפיף‬
v. intr. - ‮התקבצו לעדר אחד לחורף (צבאים אמריקאיים)‬

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