Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “yardstick” come from?

Yardstick comes from English yard, from Old English ġeard, from Proto-Germanic gardaz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning to enclose or grasp.

yardstick (English): A measuring rod thirty-six inches long; A...

Definitions

  1. A measuring rod thirty-six inches long; A...

Ancestry of “yardstick”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishYard—
2Englishmilliard10, a thousand million
3FrenchmilliardA milliard
4Frenchmillionmillion, 10
5Middle Frenchmillionmillion, 10
6Old Frenchmillon—
7Italianmilionemillion
8Italianmillethousand
9LatinMīlle—
10Proto-Italicsmīɣeslī—
11Proto-Indo-Europeansmih₂ǵʰéslih₂—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European smih₂ǵʰéslih₂ →