1 yard: how many centimeters, meters and millimeters?

In the Imperial System, one yard is equal to 3 feet or 36 inches. If we take the metric system as the point of reference, then the yard is equal to 0.9144 metre.

The yard is abbreviated to ‘yd’ or ‘yds’ (plural) in writing.

Did you know?

The earliest known records of the word “yard” come from the 10th century. The term stems from the Old English word gerd or gierd, meaning a stick or a straight rod.

In the Anglo-Saxon times the yard measured around 5 meters. Later, the “old” yard gave rise to what we now know as the rod (or perch, pole).  In the late 14th century the “modern” yard became linked with the  notion of “three feet”. Since then, the yard has always been considered  equal to 3 feet but the length of both the yard and foot varied greatly  between towns and even people, because a foot was typically based on the  length of one’s own foot (Interestingly, though, the Saxon king Edgar  is believed to have kept a yardstick as the official length standard).

The  foot’s and the yard’s exact lengths have been standardised in 1959,  when the USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa signed  a treaty called the International Yard and Pound Agreement. Decisions of the treaty stand up to the present day.

How many Imperial Units of length can you name?