Yard 34242 219550563 2008-06-15T19:52:23Z Kisbesbot 7082157 robot Adding: [[bs:Jard]] [r5545] {{Vitruvian_Man_Measurements}} {{otheruses2|Yard}} A '''yard''' (abbreviation: '''yd''') is the name of a [[Units of measurement|unit]] of [[length]] in a number of different systems, including [[English unit]]s, [[Imperial unit]]s, and [[United States customary units]]. Its size can vary from system to system. The most commonly used yard today is the international yard which by definition is equal to 0.9144 [[metre]]. The yard is used as the standard unit of field length measurement in both the [[American football|American]], English and [[Canadian football|Canadian]] games of [[football]] (although Canada has officially adopted the [[Metrication|metric system]]). The yard is used on road signs and markers in the UK. Indeed, it is illegal to display length/speed in metres/kilometres on road signs in the UK, as this would cause confusion. A corresponding unit of [[area]] is the [[square yard]]. Yard is also a slang word, used particularly in currency trading, for one billion units of a currency, e.g., a yard of dollars is $1bn, thus a buyer of a billion dollars could say "I'm a buyer of a yard of dollars."<ref>[http://www.bloomberg.com/invest/glossary/bfglosy.htm Bloomberg.com: Financial Glossary]</ref> ==Equivalence to other units of length== {{unit of length| |m= 0.9144 |accuracy=4 <!--Number of significant figures--> }} 1 international yard is equal to: * 0.5 [[fathom]] (1 fathom is equal to 2 yards) * 3 [[Foot (unit of length)|feet]] (1 foot is a third of a yard) * 36 [[inch]]es * 0.9144 [[metre]] (1 metre 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]]. [[Image:Britanski merki za dalzhina Grinuich 2005.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Etalon]]s on the wall of [[Royal Observatory Greenwich]], [[London, Great Britain]] depicting length measures - 1 yard (3 feet), 2 feet, 1 foot, 6 inches (1/2 foot), and 1 inch.]] ==Historical origin== The yard derives its name from the word for a straight branch or rod, although the precise origin of the [[weights and measures|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. These are believed to be more likely standardising events than a random invention of the measure. <ref>[http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=6-E8AAAAIAAJ&pg=RA2-PA377&lpg=RA2-PA377&dq=money+weights+and+measures+gyrd&source=web&ots=ktt2f1xIPx&sig=WlzNk4CD_pjf0nCgleSGxEbGbk0&hl=en "Money — Weights and Measures"], ''The Every-day Book and Table Book; or, Everlasting Calendar of Popular Amusements, Sports, Pastimes, Ceremonies, Manners, Customs, and Events, Each of the Three Hundred and Sixty-Five Days, in Past and Present Times; Forming a Complete History of the Year, Months, and Seasons, and a Perpetual Key to the Almanac, Including Accounts of the Weather, Rules for Health and Conduct, Remarkable and Important Anecdotes, Facts, and Notices, in Chronology, Antiquities, Topography, Biography, Natural History, Art, Science, and General Literature; Derived from the Most Authentic Sources, and Valuable Original Communication, with Poetical Elucidations, for Daily Use and Diversion. Vol III.'', ed. William Hone, (London: 1838) p 378. Retrieved on [[2008]]-[[9 June|06-09]]</ref> In currency and financial market usage, "yard" derives from "[[milliard]]", a now rarely used term for [[1,000,000,000 (number)|1,000,000,000]]. ==References== {{reflist}} ==See also== * [[English unit]] * [[Imperial unit]] * [[Guz]], the yard of the Middle East * [[United States customary units]] * [[Obsolete Spanish and Portuguese units of measurement#Vara|Vara]] [[Category:Units of length]] [[Category:Imperial units]] [[Category:Customary units in the United States]] [[Category:Human-based units of measure]] [[af:Jaart]] [[ar:يارد]] [[ast:Yarda]] [[be-x-old:Ярд]] [[bs:Jard]] [[bg:Ярд]] [[ca:Iarda]] [[cs:Yard]] [[da:Yard]] [[de:Yard]] [[es:Yarda]] [[eo:Jardo]] [[eu:Yarda]] [[fr:Yard]] [[gl:Iarda]] [[ko:야드]] [[hr:Jard]] [[id:Yard]] [[it:Iarda]] [[ku:Yard]] [[hu:Yard]] [[mk:Јарда]] [[ms:Ela]] [[nl:Yard]] [[ja:ヤード]] [[no:Yard]] [[uz:Yard]] [[pl:Jard]] [[pt:Jarda]] [[ru:Ярд]] [[sq:Jardi]] [[simple:Yard (unit of length)]] [[sr:Јард]] [[fi:Jaardi]] [[sv:Yard]] [[ta:யார் (நீள அலகு)]] [[th:หลา]] [[vi:Yard]] [[tr:Yarda]] [[uk:Ярд]] [[ur:گز]] [[wa:Vedje canadyinne]] [[zh:码]]