from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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 sheepfold, L. hortus garden, Gr. cho`rtos an inclosure.
Cf. {Court}, {Garden}, {Garth}, {Horticulture}, {Orchard}.]
[1913 Webster]
1. An inclosure; usually, a small inclosed place in front of,
or around, a house or barn; as, a courtyard; a cowyard; a
barnyard.
[1913 Webster]
A yard . . . inclosed all about with sticks
In which she had a cock, hight chanticleer.
--Chaucer.
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2. An inclosure within which any work or business is carried
on; as, a dockyard; a shipyard.
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{Liberty of the yard}, a liberty, granted to persons
imprisoned for debt, of walking in the yard, or within any
other limits prescribed by law, on their giving bond not
to go beyond those limits.
{Prison yard}, an inclosure about a prison, or attached to
it.
{Yard grass} (Bot.), a low-growing grass ({Eleusine Indica})
having digitate spikes. It is common in dooryards, and
like places, especially in the Southern United States.
Called also {crab grass}.
{Yard of land}. See {Yardland}.
[1913 Webster]