Yard

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For other uses, see Yard (disambiguation).

Yard

Unit system imperial/US units

Unit of Length

Symbol yd 

Conversions

1 yd in ... ... is equal to ...

   Imperial/US units    3 ft

   36 in

   Metric (SI) units    0.9144 m

The informal public imperial measurement standards erected at the Royal

Observatory, Greenwich, London, in the 19th century: 1 British yard, 2 feet, 1 foot, 6 inches, and 3 inches.
The inexact monument was designed to permit rods of the correct measure to fit snugly into its pins at an
ambient temperature of 62 °F (16.66 °C).[1][2]
Bronze Yard №11, the official standard of length for the United States between 1855 and 1892, when
the Treasury Department formally adopted a metric standard. Bronze Yard №11 was forged to be an exact
copy of the British Imperial Standard Yard held by Parliament. Both are line standards: the yard was
defined by the distance at 62°F between two fine lines drawn on gold plugs (closeup, top) installed in
recesses near each end of the bar.

Two yardsticks, used for measuring "yard goods"

The yard (abbreviation: yd) is an English unit of length, in both the

British imperial and US customary systems of measurement, that comprises 3 feet or
36 inches. 1,760 yards is equal to 1 mile.
Since 1959 it is by international agreement standardized as exactly 0.9144 meters.
(The US survey yard is very slightly longer).

Contents

 1Name
 2History
 3Current use
 4Equivalences
 5Conversions
 6See also
 7Notes
 8References
 9External links

Name[edit]
See also: yardland, ell, and rod.
The name derives from the Old English gerd, gyrd etc. which was used for branches,
staves, and measuring rods.[3] It is first attested in the late-7th century laws of Ine of
Wessex,[4] where the "yard of land" mentioned[4] is the yardland, an old English unit
of tax assessment equal to 1⁄4 hide.[n 1] Around the same time, the Lindisfarne
Gospels account of the messengers from John the Baptist in the Gospel of
Matthew[5] used it for a branch swayed by the wind.[3] In addition to the yardland, Old
and Middle English both used their forms of "yard" to denote the surveying lengths of
15 or 16 1⁄2 ft used in computing acres, a distance now usually known as the "rod".[3]
A unit of three English feet is attested in a statute of c. 1300 (see below) but there it
is called an ell (Latin: ulna, lit. "arm"), a separate and usually longer unit of around
45 inches. The use of the word "yard" (Middle English: ȝerd or ȝerde) to describe this
length is first attested in Langland's poem on Piers Plowman.[3][n 2] The usage seems to
derive from the prototype standard rods held by the king and his magistrates (see
below).
The word "yard" is a homonym of "yard" in the sense of an enclosed area of land.
This second meaning of "yard" has an etymology related to the verb "to gird" and is
probably not related.[8][9]

History[edit]
Origin[edit]
The origin of the measure is uncertain. Both the Romans and the Welsh used
multiples of a shorter foot, but 2 1⁄2 Roman feet was a "step" (gradus) and 3 Welsh
feet was a "pace" (cam). The Proto-Germanic cubit or arm's-length has
been reconstructed as *alinâ, which developed into the Old English ęln, Middle
English elne, and modern ell of 1¼ yd. This has led some to derive the yard of
three English feet from pacing; others from the ell or cubit; and still others
from Henry I's arm standard (see below). Based on the etymology of the other
"yard", some suggest it originally derived from the girth of a person's waist, while
others believe it originated as a cubic measure. One official British report writes:
The standard of measure has always been taken either from some part of the human
body, such as a foot, the length of the arm, the span of the hand, or from other
natural objects, such as a barleycorn, or other kind of grain. But the yard was the
original standard adopted by the early English sovereigns, and has been supposed
to be founded upon the breadth of the chest of the Saxon race. The yard continued
till the reign of Henry VII., when the ell was introduced, that being a yard and a
quarter, or 45 inches. The ell was borrowed from the Paris drapers. Subsequently,
however, Queen Elizabeth re-introduced the yard as the English standard of
measure.[10]
The earliest record of a prototype measure is the statute II Edgar
Cap. 8 (AD 959 x 963), which survives in several variant manuscripts. In it, Edgar the
Peaceful directed the Witenagemot at Andover that "the measure held
at Winchester" should be observed throughout his realm. [11] (Some manuscripts read
"at London and at Winchester".)[12][13] The statutes of William I similarly refer to and
uphold the standard measures of his predecessors without naming them.
William of Malmesbury's Deeds of the Kings of England records that during the reign
of Henry I "the measure of his arm was applied to correct the false ell of the traders
and enjoined on all throughout England." [14] The folktale that the length was bounded
by the king's nose[15] was added some centuries later. Watson dismisses William's
account as "childish"[16] but William was among the most conscientious and
trustworthy medieval historians.[17] The French "king's foot" was supposed to have
derived from Charlemagne,[17] and the English kings subsequently repeatedly
intervened to impose shorter units with the aim of increasing tax revenue.
The earliest surviving definition of this form of the ell appears in the Act on the
Composition of Yards and Perches, one of the statutes of uncertain date[n 3] tentatively
dated to the reign of Edward I or II c. 1300. Its wording varies in surviving accounts.
One reads:[19]
It is ordained that 3 grains of barley dry and round do make an inch, 12 inches make
1 foot, 3 feet make 1 yard, 5 yards and a half make a perch, and 40 perches in
length and 4 in breadth make an acre.
The Liber Horn states:[20]
And be it remembered that the iron yard of our Lord the King containeth 3 feet and
no more, and a foot ought to contain 12 inches by the right measure of this yard
measured, to wit, the 36th part of this yard rightly measured maketh 1 inch neither
more nor less and 5 yards and a half make a perch that is 16 feet and a half
measured by the aforesaid yard of our Lord the King.
In some early books, this act was appended to another statute of uncertain date
titled the Statute for the Measuring of Land. The act was not repealed until
the Weights and Measures Act of 1824.[22]
Yard and inch[edit]
In a law of 1439 (18 Henry VI. Cap. 16.) the sale of cloth by the "yard and handful"
was abolished, and the "yard and inch" instituted. [23]
There shall be but one Measure of Cloth through the Realm by the Yard and the
Inch, and not by the Yard and Handful, according to the London Measure.
According to Connor,[24] cloth merchants had previously sold cloth by the yard and
handful to evade high taxes on cloth (the extra handful being essentially a black-
market transaction). Enforcement efforts resulted in cloth merchants switching over
to the yard and inch, at which point the government gave up and made the yard and
inch official. In 1552, the yard and inch for cloth measurement was again sanctioned
in law (5 & 6 Edward VI Cap. 6. An Act for the true making of Woolen Cloth.)[25]
XIV. And that all and every Broad Cloth and Clothes called Taunton Clothes,
Bridgwaters, and other Clothes which shall be made after the said Feast in Taunton,
Bridgwater or in other Places of like Sort, shall contain at the Water in Length betwixt
twelve and thirteen Yards, Yard and Inch of the Rule, and in Breadth seven
Quarters of a Yard: (2) And every narrow Cloth made after the said Feast in the said
Towns or elsewhere of like Sorts, shall contain in the Water in Length betwixt three
and twenty and five and twenty Yards, Yard and Inch as is aforesaid, and in Breadth
one Yard of like Measure; (3) and every such Cloth, both Broad and Narrow being
well scowred, thicked, milled and fully dried, shall weigh xxxiv. li. the Piece at the
least. XV. And that all Clothes named Check-Kersie and Straits, which shall be made
after the said Feast shall contain being wet between seventeen and eighteen Yards,
with the Inches as is aforesaid, and in Breadth one Yard at the least at the Water;
and being well scowred, thicked, milled and fully dried, shall weigh xxiv. li. the Piece
at the least.
And once in legislation of 1557–1558 (4 & 5 Philip and Mary Cap. 5. An act touching
the making of woolen clothes. par. IX.)[26]
IX. Item, That every ordinary kersie mentioned in the said act shall contain in length
in the water betwixt xvi. and xvii. yards, yard and inch; and being well scoured
thicked, milled, dressed and fully dried, shall weigh nineteen pounds the piece at the
least:...
As recently as 1593 the same principle is found mentioned once again (35 Elizabeth.
Cap. 10. An act for the reformation of sundry abuses in clothes, called Devonshire
kerjies or dozens, according to a proclamation of the thirty-fourth year of the reign of
our sovereign lady the Queen that now is. par. III.)[27]
(2) and each and every of the same Devonshire kersies or dozens, so being raw,
and as it cometh forth off the weaver's loom (without racking, stretching, straining or
other device to encrease the length thereof) shall contain in length between fifteen
and sixteen yards by the measure of yard and inch by the rule,...

Physical standards[edit]
One of the oldest yard-rods in existence is the clothyard of the Worshipful Company
of Merchant Taylors. It consists of a hexagonal iron rod 5⁄8 inch in diameter and
1
⁄100 inch short of a yard, encased within a silver rod bearing the hallmark 1445. [24][28] In
the early 15th century, the Merchant Taylors Company was authorized to "make
search" at the opening of the annual St. Bartholomew's Day Cloth Fair.[29][30] In the
mid-18th century Graham compared the standard yard of the Royal Society to other
existing standards. These were a "long-disused" standard made in 1490 during the
reign of Henry VII,[31] and a brass yard and a brass ell from 1588 in the time of Queen
Elizabeth and still in use at the time, held at the Exchequer;[32] a brass yard and a
brass ell at the Guildhall; and a brass yard presented to the Clock-Makers'
Company by the Exchequer in 1671.[33] The Exchequer yard was taken as "true"; the
variation was found to be +1⁄20 to −1⁄15 of an inch, and an additional graduation for the
Exchequer yard was made on the Royal Society's standard. [33] In 1758 the legislature
required the construction of a standard yard, which was made from the Royal
Society's standard and was deposited with the clerk of the House of Commons; it
was divided into feet, one of the feet into inches, and one of the inches into tenths.
[33]
 A copy of it, but with upright cheeks between which other measuring rods could be
placed, was made for the Exchequer for commercial use. [33][34]
19th-century Britain[edit]
Following Royal Society investigations by John Playfair, Hyde Wollaston and John
Warner in 1814 a committee of parliament proposed defining the standard yard
based upon the length of a seconds pendulum. This idea was examined but not
approved.[35] The Weights and Measures Act of 1824 (5° George IV. Cap. 74.) An Act
for ascertaining and establishing Uniformity of Weights and Measures stipulates that:
[36]

From and after the First Day of May One thousand eight hundred and twenty five the
Straight Line or Distance between the Centres of the Two Points in the Gold Studs of
the Straight Brass Rod now in the Custody of the Clerk of the House of Commons
whereon the Words and Figures "Standard Yard 1760" are engraved shall be and
the same is hereby declared to be the original and genuine Standard of that Measure
of Length or lineal Extension called a Yard; and that the same Straight Line or
Distance between the Centres of the said Two Points in the said Gold Studs in the
said Brass Rod the Brass being at the Temperature of Sixty two Degrees
by Fahrenheit's Thermometer shall be and is hereby denominated the Imperial
Standard Yard and shall be and is hereby declared to be the Unit or only Standard
Measure of Extension, wherefrom or whereby all other Measures of Extension
whatsoever, whether the same be lineal, superficial or solid, shall be derived,
computed and ascertained; and that all Measures of Length shall be taken in Parts
or Multiples, or certain Proportions of the said Standard Yard; and that One third Part
of the said Standard Yard shall be a Foot, and the Twelfth Part of such Foot shall be
an Inch; and that the Pole or Perch in Length shall contain Five such Yards and a
Half, the Furlong Two hundred and twenty such Yards, and the Mile One thousand
seven hundred and sixty such Yards.
In 1834, the primary Imperial yard standard was partially destroyed in a fire known
as the Burning of Parliament.[37][n 4]. In 1838, a commission[n 5] was formed to reconstruct
the lost standards, including the troy pound, which had also been destroyed. [41] In
1845, a new yard standard was constructed based on two previously existing
standards known as A1 and A2, both of which had been made for the Ordnance
Survey, and R.S. 46, the yard of the Royal Astronomical Society. All three had been
compared to the Imperial standard before the fire.
The new standard was made of Baily's metal No. 4 consisting of 16 parts copper,
2 1⁄2 parts tin, and 1 part zinc. It was 38 inches long and 1 inch square. The Weights
and Measures Act of 1855 granted official recognition to the new standards.
Between 1845 and 1855 forty yard standards were constructed, one of which was
selected as the new Imperial standard. Four others, known as Parliamentary Copies,
were distributed to The Royal Mint, The Royal Society of London, The Royal
Observatory at Greenwich, and the New Palace at Westminster, commonly called
the Houses of Parliament.[42] The other 35 yard standards were distributed to the
cities of London, Edinburgh, and Dublin, as well as the United States and other
countries (although only the first five had official status). [43] The imperial standard
received by the United States is known as "Bronze Yard No. 11" [44]
The Weights and Measures Act 1878 confirmed the status of the existing yard
standard, mandated regular intercomparisons between the several yard standards,
and authorized the construction of one additional Parliamentary Copy (made in 1879
and known as Parliamentary Copy VI).[45]
Definition of the yard in terms of the meter[edit]
Subsequent measurements revealed that the yard standard and its copies were
shrinking at the rate of one part per million every twenty years due to the gradual
release of strain incurred during the fabrication process. [46][47] The international
prototype meter, on the other hand, was comparatively stable. A measurement made
in 1895 determined the length of the meter at 39.370113 inches relative to the
imperial standard yard. The Weights and Measures (Metric) Act of 1897 [48] in
conjunction with Order in Council 411 (1898) made this relationship official. After
1898, the de facto legal definition of the yard came to be accepted as 36⁄39.370113 of a
meter.
The yard (known as the "international yard" in the United States) was legally defined
to be exactly 0.9144 meter in 1959 under an agreement in 1959 between Australia,
Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. [49] In
the UK, the provisions of the treaty were ratified by the Weights and Measures Act of
1963. The Imperial Standard Yard of 1855 was renamed the United Kingdom
Primary Standard Yard and retained its official status as the national prototype yard.
[50][51]

Current use[edit]
In UK road signs, shorter distances (such as Picnic area 150 yards ahead) are given in yards, with longer
distances given in miles

The yard is used as the standard unit of field-length measurement in American,

[52]
 Canadian[53] and association football,[54] cricket pitch dimensions,[55] and in some
countries, golf fairway measurements.
There are corresponding units of area and volume, the square yard and cubic
yard respectively. These are sometimes referred to simply as "yards" when no
ambiguity is possible, for example an American or Canadian concrete mixer may be
marked with a capacity of "9 yards" or "1.5 yards", where cubic yards are obviously
referred to.
Yards are also used and are the legal requirement on road signs for shorter
distances in the United Kingdom, and are also frequently found in conversation
between Britons much like in the United States for distance. [56]
Textiles and fat quarters [edit]
The yard, subdivided into eighths, is used for the purchase of fabrics in the United
States and United Kingdom[57][n 6] and was previously used elsewhere. In the United
States the term "fat quarter" is used for a piece of fabric which is half a yard in length
cut from a roll and then cut again along the width so that it is only half the width of
the roll, thus the same area as a piece of one quarter yard cut from the full width of
the roll; these pieces are popular for patchwork and quilting.[59] The term "fat eighth" is
also used, for a piece of one quarter yard from half the roll width, the same area as
one eighth cut from the roll.[60]

Equivalences[edit]
For purposes of measuring cloth, the early yard was divided by the binary method
into two, four, eight and sixteen parts. [61] The two most common divisions were the
fourth and sixteenth parts. The quarter of a yard (9 inches) was known as the
"quarter" without further qualification, while the sixteenth of a yard (2.25 inches) was
called a nail.[62] The eighth of a yard (4.5 inches) was sometimes called a finger,[63] but
was more commonly referred to simply as an eighth of a yard, while the half-yard (18
inches) was called "half a yard".[64]
Other units related to the yard, but not specific to cloth measurement: two yards are
a fathom, a quarter of a yard (when not referring to cloth) is a span.[65]
Conversions[edit]
 international yard (defined 1959):[66][67]
1250 (international) yards = 1143 meters
1 (international) yard = 0.9144 meters (exact)[68]
1 (international) statute mile = 8
international furlongs = 80 international chains =
1760 (international) yards

 pre-1959 US yard – defined 1869,

implemented 1893[69]
For survey purposes, certain pre-1959 units were
retained, usually prefaced by the word "survey,"
among them the survey inch, survey foot, and survey
mile, also known as the statute mile.
The rod and furlong exist only in their pre-1959 form
and are thus not prefaced by the word "survey."
However, it is not clear if a "survey yard" actually
exists.[70] If it did, its hypothetical values would be as
follows:
3937 survey yards = 3600 meters[69]
1 survey yard ≈ 0.91440183 meters[69]
1 survey statute mile = 8 furlongs = 80 chains = 1760
survey yards

 Comparing international yards

and survey yards
500,000 (international) yards = 499,999 survey yards
= 457,200 meters
1 (international) yard = 0.999998 survey yards
(exact)[69]
1 (international) mile = 0.999998 survey miles(exact)

See also[edit]
 Guz, the yard of
Asia
 3 ft gauge railways
 Vara
 Yardstick

Notes[edit]
1. ^ The later Latin
gloss virgata
terre describes it as
"branched".
2. ^ Middle
English: Thanne
drowe I me
amonges draperes ·
my donet to lerne  /
To drawe þe lyser
alonge [·] þe lenger
it semed  / Amonge
þe riche rayes  · I
rendred a lessoun /
To broche hem with
a bat-nedle · and
plaited hem
togyderes / And put
hem in a presse  ·
and pyned hem
þerinne  / Tyl ten
ȝerdes or twelue  ·
tolled out threttene[6]
"Then tarried I
amongst drapers ·
my grammar to
learn; /To draw
the selvedge along ·
the longer it
seemed; /Among the
rich ranged cloths ·
rendered a lesson, /
To pierce them with
a pack-needle · and
plait them together, /
Put them in a press ·
and pin them
therein / Till ten
yards or twelve · had
tolled out to thirteen.
[7]

3. ^ Although not
originally statutes,
the statutes of an
uncertain date were
eventually accepted
as such with the
passage of time.
4. ^ The following
references are
useful for identifying
the authors of the
preceding reference:
Ref.[38], Ref.[39], and
Ref.[40]
5. ^ Whose report was
referenced in Ref[37].
6. ^ In the United
Kingdom fabric may
be sold by the yard if
the equivalent metric
measure is also
given. Major shops
sell by the meter.[58]
References[edit]
Citations[edit]
1. ^ Bennett (2004),
p. 8.
2. ^ Ewart (1862),
pp. 112–113.
3. ^ Jump up to:a b c d OED
(1921), "yard,  n.2".
4. ^ Jump up to:a b Thorpe
(1840), p. 63.
5. ^ Matt. xi. 7.
6. ^ Langland (1377),
Ch. 5:ll, lines 211–
216.
7. ^ Attwater (1957),
p. 38.
8. ^ OED (1921),
"yard,  n.1".
9. ^ OED (1921),
"gird,  v.1".
10. ^ Report from the
Select Committee
on Weights and
Measures; together
with the
Proceedings of the
Committee, Minutes
of Evidence,
Appendix and Index.
London. 4 August
1862.
11. ^ Thorpe (1840).
12. ^ Thorpe (1840),
p. 113.
13. ^ Liebermann
(1903), p. 204–206.
14. ^ Giles 1866, p. 445.
15. ^ Green (1986),
p. 106.
16. ^ Watson (1910),
pp. 36–39.
17. ^ Jump up to:a b Connor
(1987), p. xxiv.
18. ^ Ruffhead (1765),
p. 421.
19. ^ BL Cotton MS Cla
udius D2, cited and
translated
in Ruffhead.[18]
20. ^ Fowler (1884),
p. 276.
21. ^ Statutes (1824),
p. 349.
22. ^ 5 George IV C. 74,
§24.[21]
23. ^ Statutes at Large.
1763. p. 594.
24. ^ Jump up to:a b Connor
(1987).
25. ^ Owen Ruffhead,
ed. (1763). The
statutes at large. 2.
p. 442.
26. ^ Great
Britain; Pickering,
Danby (1763).
Danby Pickering
(ed.).  The statutes
at large. 6. Printed
by J. Bentham.
p. 96.
27. ^ Great
Britain; Pickering,
Danby (1763).  The
statutes at large. 6.
Printed by J.
Bentham. p. 444.
28. ^ Robinson, Sir
John
Charles;  Victoria
and Albert
museum (1863).  Ca
talogue of the
special exhibition of
works of art of the
mediæval,
Renaissance, and
more recent periods,
on loan at the South
Kensington
museum, June
1862. Printed by
George E. Eyre and
William
Spottiswoode,
printers to the
Queen's most
excellent Majesty.
For Her Majesty's
Stationery Office.
p. 452.
29. ^ William Carew
Hazlitt  (1892). The
livery companies of
the city of London:
their origin,
character,
development, and
social and political
importance. S.
Sonnenschein & co.
p. 280.
30. ^ Clode, Charles
Mathew (1888).  The
 early history of the
Guild of merchant
taylors of the
fraternity of St. John
the Baptist, London:
with notices of the
lives of some of its
eminent members.
Harrison. p.  128.
31. ^ Warden of the
Standards
(1873).  Seventh
annual report of the
Warden of the
Standards, on the
proceedings and
business of the
standard weights
and measures
department of the
Board of Trade, for
1872–73, Appendix
III.  38. House of
Commons.
p. 34. (pp 374 of
book)
32. ^ Warden of the
Standards
(1873).  Seventh
annual report of the
Warden of the
Standards, on the
proceedings and
business of the
standard weights
and measures
department of the
Board of Trade, for
1872–73, Appendix
III.  38. House of
Commons.
p. 25,26. (pp
364,365 of book)
33. ^ Jump up
to:a b c d
       Knight,
Charles (1840).  The
Penny magazine of
the Society for the
Diffusion of Useful
Knowledge, Volume
9. London: Society
for the Diffusion of
Useful Knowledge.
pp.  221–2.  In 1758
the legislature
turned attention to
this subject; and
after some
investigations on the
comparative lengths
of the various
standards, ordered a
 rod to be made of
brass, about 38 or
39 inches long, and
graduated from the
Royal Society's
yard  : this was
marked “Standard
Yard, 1758,” and
was laid by in the
care of the clerk of
the House of
Commons. For
commercial
purposes another
bar was made, with
the yard marked off
from the same
standard; but it had
two upright fixed
cheeks, placed
exactly a yard
asunder, between
which any
commercial yard
measures might be
placed, in order to
have their accuracy
tested  : it was
graduated into feet,
one of the feet into
inches, and one of
the inches into ten
parts. This standard
was to be kept at the
Exchequer. In 1760,
a copy of Bird's
standard, made two
years before, was
constructed.
34. ^ Herbert Treadwell
Wade (1905). The
New international
encyclopaedia.
Dodd, Mead and
company. p. 405.
35. ^ Charles Hutton
Dowling (1872). A
series of metric
tables: in which the
British standard
measures and
weights are
compared with those
of the metric system
at present in use on
the continent.
Lockwood. pp. xii–
iii.
36. ^ Great Britain
(1824).  The statutes
of the United
Kingdom of Great
 Britain and Ireland
(1807–1865). His
Majesty's statute
and law printers.
pp.  339–354.
37. ^ Jump up to:a b G. B.
Airy;  F. Baily; J. E.
D. Bethune;  J. F. W.
Herschel; J. G. S.
Lefevre; J. W.
Lubbock; G.
Peacock;  R.
Sheepshanks (1841
).  Report of the
Commissioners
appointed to
consider the steps to
be taken for
restoration of the
standards of weight
& measure (Report).
London: W. Clowes
and Sons for Her
Majesty's Stationery
Office. Retrieved 20
April  2020. We shall
in the first place
describe the state of
the Standards
recovered from the
ruins of the House of
Commons, as
ascertained in our
inspection of them
made on 1st June,
1838, at the Journal
Office… No. 1. A
brass bar marked
“Standard [G. II.
crown emblem]
Yard, 1758,” which
on examination was
found to have its
right hand stud
perfect, with the
point and line
visible, but with its
left hand stud
completely melted
out, a hole only
remaining. The bar
was somewhat bent,
and discoloured in
every part. No. 2. A
brass bar with a
projecting cock at
each end, forming a
bed for the trial of
yard-measures;
discoloured. No. 3.
A brass bar marked
“Standard [G. II.
crown emblem]
 Yard, 1760,” from
which the left hand
stud was completely
melted out, and
which in other
respects was in the
same condition as
No. 1. No. 4. A yard-
bed similar to No. 2;
discoloured. … It
appears from this list
that the bar adopted
in the Act 5th Geo.
IV., cap. 74, sect. 1,
for the legal
standard of one
yard, (No. 3 of the
preceding list), is so
far injured, that it is
impossible to
ascertain from it,
with the most
moderate accuracy,
the statutable length
of one yard. … We
have therefore to
report that it is
absolutely
necessary that steps
be taken for the
formation and
legalizing of new
Standards of Length
and Weight.
38. ^ J. F. W.
Herschel  (1845). Me
moir of Francis
Baily, Esq (Report).
London: Moyes and
Barclay. pp. 23–24.
Retrieved 20
April  2020.
39. ^ Royal commission
on scientific
instruction and the
advancement of
science: Minutes of
evidence,
appendices, and
analyses of
evidence, Vol.
II  (Report). London:
George Edward
Eyre and William
Spottiswoode
Printers of the
queen's most
excellent majesty for
Her Majesty's
Stationery officer.
1874. p. 184.
Retrieved 20
April  2020.
40. ^ "Art. VIII.—Report
of the
Commissioners
appointed to
consider the steps to
be taken for
restoration of the
standards of weight
and
measure.  Presented
to both Houses of
Parliament by
Command of her
Majesty, 1841.",  The
Edinburgh Review,
Edinburgh:
Ballantyne and
Hughes, vol.  77
no.  February, 1843
… April, 1843,
p. 228, 1843
41. ^ Connor 1987,
p. 261.
42. ^ Ronald Edward
Zupko  (1990). Revol
ution in
measurement:
Western European
weights and
measures since the
age of science.
American
Philosophical
Society.
p. 183.  ISBN  978-0-
87169-186-6.
43. ^ Connor 1987,
p. 264–266.
44. ^ NIST museum
collection
45. ^ Great Britain
(1878).  Statutes at
large. pp. 308–341.
46. ^ "History Of
Calibration".
Norwich Instrument
Services. 2012.
47. ^ "The Gauge Block
Handbook"  (PDF).
The National
Institute of
Standards and
Technology (NIST).
2013.
48. ^ John Mews, ed.
(1897).  "Statutes of
the Realm – 60–61
Victoria".  The Law
journal reports.  66.
London: The Law
 Journal Reports.
p. 109.
49. ^ A. V. Astin & H.
Arnold Karo,
(1959), Refinement
of values for the
yard and the pound,
Washington
DC: National Bureau
of Standards,
republished
on National Geodetic
Surveyweb site and
the Federal
Register (Doc. 59-
5442, Filed, June 30,
1959, 8:45 a.m.)
50. ^ Ronald Edward
Zupko  (1990). Revol
ution in
measurement:
Western European
weights and
measures since the
age of science.
American
Philosophical
Society.
p. 432.  ISBN  978-0-
87169-186-6.
51. ^ Weights and
Measures Act 1985
BAILY’S METAL.
PARLIAMENTARY
COPY (VI) OF THE
IMPERIAL
STANDARD YARD.
41 & 42 VICTORIA,
CHAPTER 49.
STANDARD YARD
AT 62° FAHT. CAST
IN 1878
52. ^ American Football
pitch dimensions
53. ^ Canadian Football
Pitch dimensions
54. ^ Association
Football pitch
dimensions,
55. ^ Cricket pitch
dimensions
56. ^ Driving Standards
Agency (1999), The
Highway Code,
London: The
Stationery
Office, ISBN 0-11-
551977-7, pp. 74–75
57. ^ "S0733:  Frozen  p
attern". Simplicity
 New Look.
Retrieved 1
January  2015. The
pattern envelope
shows the fabric
requirements in
yards and eighths, in
English, and in
metric
measurements, in
French.
58. ^ "Carrington
Fabrics Classique
Satin Fabric, Black,
£12.00 per
metre".  John Lewis
& Partners.
Retrieved 17
November 2019.
59. ^ Penn, Sue
(2006).  "What are
Fat Quarters?". Fat
Quarter Quilting.
Krause Publications
Craft. ISBN 978089
6891715.
60. ^ Yoder, Corey
(2014).  "Fat Eighth
Bundles". Playful
Petals: Learn
Simple, Fusible
Appliqué. C&T
Publishing.
p. 23.  ISBN  978160
7057987.
61. ^ The statutes at
large. 1763. p.  631.
62. ^ Charles Arnold
(1850).  The boy's
arithmetic. p.  54.
63. ^ The Encyclopedia
Americana.
Encyclopedia
Americana Corp.
1920. p. 165.
64. ^ Instructions for
cutting out apparel
for the poor. Sold by
J. Walter. 1789.
p. 53.
65. ^ Isaiah Steen
(1846).  A treatise on
mental arithmetic, in
theory and practice.
p. 9.
66. ^ Donald Fenna (26
October 2002).  A
dictionary of
weights, measures,
and units. Oxford
 University Press.
pp.  130–1.  ISBN  97
8-0-19-860522-5.
67. ^ Hearst Magazines
(March
1959). "Popular
Mechanics". Popular
Mechanics, 2015.
Hearst Magazines:
248.  ISSN  0032-
4558.
68. ^ "On what basis is
one inch exactly
equal to 25.4 mm?
Has the imperial
inch been adjusted
to give this exact fit
and if so
when?".  National
Physical Laboratory.
Retrieved 2012-01-
07.
69. ^ Jump up to:a b c d NIST
Guide to the SI –
section B.6 U.S.
survey foot and mile
70. ^ NIST Handbook
44 – 2012 Appendix
C "General Tables of
Units of
Measurement" page
C-5

Bibliography[edit]

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620-7.
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(1987), The
Weights and
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0-11-290435-9.
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(1862), Report from
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37586-X.
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External
links[edit]
  The dictionary
definition of yard at
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Imperial units
nits

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unit

Categories: 
 Units of length
 Imperial units
 Customary units of
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  Human-based units of
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