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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.
For other uses, see Yard (disambiguation).

A yard (abbreviation: yd) is a unit of length in several different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. Its size can vary from system to system. The most commonly used yard today is the international yard, which is equal to 0.9144 metre.

The yard is used as the standard unit of field-length measurement in the American, English, and Canadian games of American football. Other football games such as Soccer once used the yard but now use the metric meter.

A corresponding unit of area is the square yard.

In the context of American and Canadian concrete mixers' loads, a cubic yard is always called simply a yard. A typical marking would indicate that a mixer had a capacity of "11 yards" or "1.5 yards".

Yard also is a term used in financial markets for one billion (109) units of currency (derived from the French milliard) in order to avoid the ambiguity between "billion" and "million". Example: a yard of dollars is $1bn.[1]

Equivalence to other units of length

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

1 international yard is equal to:

  • 3 feet (1 foot is a third of a yard)
  • 36 inches
  • 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.

Etalons 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 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. [2]

In currency and financial market usage, "yard" derives from "milliard", a now rarely used term for 1,000,000,000.

References

  1. ^ Financial Glossary (2008). New York: Bloomberg. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
  2. ^ "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 June 9, 2008

See also

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