核心畫面

Picture a piece of ground right next to a building, fenced or off — a bounded outdoor space that belongs to that building.

可以想成緊挨著房子、用牆或籬笆圍起來的一塊地——一個有邊界、屬於這棟建築的戶外空間。

From the word’s history

The enclosure sense is from Old English geard 'fenced enclosure, court, yard,' related to garden — literally ground fenced off. (The 'unit of length' sense is a separate word, from Old English gierd 'rod, stick.')

圍地這個意思來自古英語 geard(圍起來的院子、庭院),和 garden(花園)同源,本義就是用籬笆圍出來的一塊地。至於『碼』這個長度單位,其實是另一個字,來自古英語 gierd(量東西用的桿子)。

etymonline.com/word/yard

Two branches

圍起來的一塊地

全都是『房子旁邊圍起來的地』這個核心畫面,差別只在圍出來要做什麼、鋪不鋪草。

work yard · noun · B1

An area next to a building, with a wall or fence around it, used for a particular kind of work or activity.

場地 / 工作場

長度單位『碼』

這一支和上面的『院子』只是碰巧同形,意義上不相連——別把兩個 yard 硬接在一起。

unit of length · noun · B1

A length of three feet, about 0.91 metres, used for measuring.

原始詞典資料26 筆記錄

以下是外部詞典記錄的用法,原文照列,我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的;有些用法可能上面已經講過了。

Yardname

  • 1

    Scotland Yard or New Scotland Yard

    • 'Suppose we walk across to Scotland Yard, and you can tell me on the way.' At the corner of Derby Street they encountered two men who had just turned out of the Yard.
  • 2

    The Metropolitan Police Service

  • 3

    Jamaica

yardnoun詞源 1/ˈjɑːd/

  • 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.
  • 2

    The property surrounding one's house, typically dominated by one's lawn.

  • 3

    An enclosed outdoors 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.
    • 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.
  • 4

    A place where moose or deer herd together in winter for pasture, protection, etc.

  • 5

    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

yardverb詞源 1/ˈjɑːd/

  • 1

    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.
    • 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.

yardnoun詞源 2/ˈjɑːd/

  • 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.
  • 2

    Units of similar composition or length in other systems.

  • 3

    nauticaltransportAny spar carried aloft.

  • 4

    nauticaltransportAny spar carried aloft.

  • 5

    obsoleteA branch, twig, or shoot.

  • 6

    obsoleteA staff, rod, or stick.

  • 7

    obsoleteA penis.

    • Loues her by the foot. Dum. He may not by the yard.
    • there were some people found who tooke pleasure to unhood the end of their yard, and to cut off the fore-skinne after the manner of the Mahometans and Jewes[…].
  • 8

    slang100 dollars.

另外 4 個記錄的用法
  • 9

    obsoleteThe 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.
  • 10

    obsoleteThe rod, a surveying unit of (once) 15 or (now) 16+¹⁄₂ feet.

  • 11

    obsoleteThe rood, area bound by a square rod, ¹⁄₄ acre.

  • 12

    A tall, slender, hollow receptacle or tool.

yardverb詞源 2/ˈjɑːd/

  • 1

    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.

yardnoun詞源 3/ˈjɑːd/

  • 1

    businessfinance10⁹, A short scale billion; a long scale thousand millions or milliard.

    • I need to hedge a yard of yen.
  • 2

    slangdrugsmedicinepharmacologyOne hundred, usually referring to currency or money's worth.

    • How much coke you want? Gimme a yard.

這個拼法也被記錄為下列字的變化形:

資料來源:英文維基詞典 English WiktionaryCC BY-SA 4.0)。 原文照列,未經改寫。