Norse mythology and the word "yard"

via Wikimedia Commons

Perhaps you've seen Kenneth Branagh's Thor, and if so, you may have gone home and googled some of the mythological figures and place names from the movie. (Yeah, I didn't know that frost giants were a real thing either). In Norse mythology the world was divided into nine realms, three of which are Asgard, the realm of the gods, Jotunheimr, the home of the frost giants, and Midgard, the abode of human beings.

The second part of Asgard and Midgard is (probably) the ancestor of our word "yard." It refers to any enclosure, so it is also the root of the word garth, meaning the enclosed open space in the middle of a cloister. In Anglo-Saxon, the parent language of modern English, the word geard can refer to any place that is distinct from another place - the kingdom of England or the kingdom of Heaven (literally referred to as "the eternal yard"), as well as to someone's garden or lawn. So, think of that the next time you see a sign for a "yard sale." Pin It