Noun (1)

Middle Englishyerd, going back to Old Englishgeard "fence, enclosure, dwelling, home, district, country," going back to Germanic*garđa- (whence also Old Saxongard "garden, dwelling, world," Middle Dutchgaert "garden, yard," Old High Germangart "enclosure, circle, enclosed piece of property," Old Norsegarðr "enclosure, courtyard," Gothicgards (i-stem) "house, household, courtyard"; from an n-stem*garđan-: Old Frisiangarda "family property, courtyard," Old Saxongardo "garden," Old High Germangarto), perhaps (if from*ghortós) going back to Indo-European*ghortos "enclosure," whence also Old Irishgort "arable or pasture field," Welshgarth "field, enclosure, fold," Bretongarz "hedge," Latinhortus "garden," Greekchórtos "farmyard, pasturage"

Note: The above is only one possible account of this somewhat problematic etymon. If not from a Verner's Law variant of a putative stem*ghor-to-, the Germanic word could go back to*ghordho-, which would correspond to Slavic*gordŭ (Old Church Slavicgradŭ "town, garden, yard," Russiangórod "city," Bosnian-Croatian-Serbiangrâd) and Lithuaniangar͂das "pen, fold." The Slavic and Baltic words have, alternatively, been taken as loans from Germanic. This explanation would not, however, cover Albaniangardh "fence, wattled partition," or, more crucially, Sanskritgṛháḥ "house," if it goes back to*ghr̥dhos, a zero-grade derivative. The Germanic etymon has traditionally been connected with a hypothetical verb base*ǵher- "grasp, enclose," seen in Sanskritharati "(s/he) takes, fetches, bears,"jahrur "were fetched," though the Albanian, Balto-Slavic and Sanskrit words do not show a palatovelar. A palatovelar is evidenced, however, in a group of semantically related words: Lithuanianžárdas "rack for drying grain, flax or pease, cattle hurdle,"ža͂rdis "fenced pasture," Old Prussiansardis "fence," regional Russianzoród, zaród "stack of hay or grain sheaves, enclosure around a stack." Also associated with Germanic*garđa- is a strong verb*gerđan- hypothetically evidenced by Gothic*-gairdan (attested only as the past participlebigaurdans, translating Greekperizōsámenos "girding oneself") and a weak verb*gurdjan- with zero grade—seegirdentry 1,girdleentry 1,girthentry 1.

Noun (2)

Middle Englishyerd, yerde "stick, pole, rod, spar supporting a sail, unit of measure," going back to Old Englishgierd "stick, rod," going back to Germanic*gazdjō (whence Old Frisianierde "stick," Old Saxongerdia, Old High Germangerta), derivative of*gazda- "stick, rod" (whence Old High Germangart "stick," Old Norsegaddr "goad, spike," Gothicgazds "sting"), going back to dialectal Indo-European*ghazdh- "stick, something pointed" (whence Latinhasta "spear," Middle Irishgat "withe, osier," probably alsogas "shoot, twig"), probably a loanword from an unknown source

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined atsense 1a

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined atsense 1

Verb

1758, in the meaning defined attransitive sense 1

Noun (2)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined atsense 1

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