Are the words yard and yard related? (1 Viewer)

[Ahsoka]

Meaning yard as in outside part of a house and yard as in the measurement.

The answer is no. Despite the same final result, these words are completely unrelated etymologically. The outdoor yard comes from the Old English word geard, meaning a fenced enclosure/house/ect, while the measurement comes from Old English gerd, meaning rod, stick, ect, but also a measurement. These also don’t trace back to the same place even as far back as Proto-Indo-European. It also means that in a way “yardstick” kinda means “stick stick”. Though ofc a little time has passed between Old English and now

 

[Ahsoka]

Language tag:
@athenarose @intothevault @Nyaz @Dreamer_of_Songs @Nina @velvet @ChuuAntics @MyLovelyLove @alo @Chiara @eclipsoul @sick @Moguri

 

[velvet]

I use none of these words in daily life lmao.

 

[Ahsoka]

I use none of these words in daily life lmao.

I never really thought about it but of all the countries people first think about when they think of English speaking countries (US, Canada, UK, and Australia), Australia is the only one that’s completely metric right? You don’t use imperial in daily life ever?

 

[velvet]

I never really thought about it but of all the countries people first think about when they think of English speaking countries (US, Canada, UK, and Australia), Australia is the only one that’s completely metric right? You don’t use imperial in daily life ever?

I don't think so. I remember being in England and the signs would be like 'speed limit: 30' and I'd be like 'why are we going so slow?'

 

[dark_tranquility]

old English indeed

 

[eclipsoul]

not in polish either, yard as outside space has an actual word for it - "podwórko". meanwhile yard is just... jard lol no one uses it here so they didn't even try

 

[Ahsoka]

not in polish either, yard as outside space has an actual word for it - "podwórko". meanwhile yard is just... jard lol no one uses it here so they didn't even try

Yeah Russians just took the English word yard and called it a day too Why complicate things for something so sillly?

 

[Moguri]

I wish it was forbidden to have 2 words in one langauge that are spelled the same but have different meanings

 

[Moguri]

I never really thought about it but of all the countries people first think about when they think of English speaking countries (US, Canada, UK, and Australia), Australia is the only one that’s completely metric right? You don’t use imperial in daily life ever?

I don't think so. I remember being in England and the signs would be like 'speed limit: 30' and I'd be like 'why are we going so slow?'

I only recently learned that the british use both systems... thats the most confusing option ever

 

[Ahsoka]

I only recently learned that the british use both systems... thats the most confusing option ever

Canadians do too

 

[Ahsoka]

I wish it was forbidden to have 2 words in one langauge that are spelled the same but have different meanings

Tbh I can get behind it if the context is clear enough. Like bass and bass. I think most of us can guess that the band member doesn’t play a fish. But some cases it can just be confusing, like read and read. Way too easy to mix it up

 

[Moguri]

Canadians do too

no way

 

[Moguri]

Tbh I can get behind it if the context is clear enough. Like bass and bass. I think most of us can guess that the band member doesn’t play a fish. But some cases it can just be confusing, like read and read. Way too easy to mix it up

it really can't be that hard to invent a few more words to avoid this

 

[Ahsoka]

no way

The worst part is that so few countries use “the imperial system” as is, but even among those few countries there’s at least 2 imperial systems. Like while Canadians can usually use US measurements when needed because they use imperial, there are times that they’ll still need to convert between British imperial (what they use) and US Customary. But somehow it seems like a lot of Americans (and maybe Canadians?) don’t even know that, unless they need to due to work or something

 

[Moguri]

The worst part is that so few countries use “the imperial system” as is, but even among those few countries there’s at least 2 imperial systems. Like while Canadians can usually use US measurements when needed because they use imperial, there are times that they’ll still need to convert between British imperial (what they use) and US Customary. But somehow it seems like a lot of Americans (and maybe Canadians?) don’t even know that, unless they need to due to work or something

what.. are you saying there are different kinds of imperial..?

 

[Ahsoka]

what.. are you saying there are different kinds of imperial..?

If we want to split hairs, no. The only real “imperial system” is the British Imperial system, officially started in 1824. The US customary system is very similar though. It comes from the old system that predates the imperial system and as such most of its measurements line up with the British imperial system. Because of that, people colloquially call the US Customary system the imperial system.

 

[Moguri]

If we want to split hairs, no. The only real “imperial system” is the British Imperial system, officially started in 1824. The US customary system is very similar though. It comes from the old system that predates the imperial system and as such most of its measurements line up with the British imperial system. Because of that, people colloquially call the US Customary system the imperial system.

so whats the difference then?

 

[Ahsoka]

so whats the difference then?

Some measurements do differ between the two. For example, peck and bushel are found in US Customary, but no longer present in the British Imperial system. The imperial fluid ounce is 3.924% smaller than the US fluid ounce, but the imperial gallon, quart, and pint are 20.095% larger than the US version. This is actually a thing companies in the US and Canada need to take into account, especially beer companies. Both use 12 oz beer bottles, but 12 imperial ounces are around 11.5 US ounces. The British system also uses the stone as a measurement for body weight, while this measurement doesn't exist in US customary. The US system includes a measurement called a kip, which is 1,000 lbs of force. This measurement doesn’t exist in imperial. These are just a few differences, there are many more. In the grand scheme of things it’s not a crazy number of differences, but it’s also not nonexistent.

 

[Moguri]

Some measurements do differ between the two. For example, peck and bushel are found in US Customary, but no longer present in the British Imperial system. The imperial fluid ounce is 3.924% smaller than the US fluid ounce, but the imperial gallon, quart, and pint are 20.095% larger than the US version. This is actually a thing companies in the US and Canada need to take into account, especially beer companies. Both use 12 oz beer bottles, but 12 imperial ounces are around 11.5 US ounces. The British system also uses the stone as a measurement for body weight, while this measurement doesn't exist in US customary. The US system includes a measurement called a kip, which is 1,000 lbs of force. This measurement doesn’t exist in imperial. These are just a few differences, there are many more. In the grand scheme of things it’s not a crazy number of differences, but it’s also not nonexistent.

it's enough already, my Moguri head is spinning

let's just stop with the crazy metrics