yard-limit 
yard-limit (yard'lim'it), M. On a railway, the 
extreme end of the yard-space occupied by sid- 
ings and switches : usually indicated by a sign 
beside the track. 
yardman (yiird'man), H. ; pi. yardmen (-men). 
1 . The laborer who has the special care of a 
farm-yard. Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] — 2. One 
who is employed in a railway-yard under the 
yard-master, to assist in switching ears and 
making up trains. Also yanUman. 
Labourers (including yardmen and stokers). 
Elect. Rev. (Eng.), XXV. 432. 
yard-master (yard'mas"ter), n. A man em- 
ployed under the manager of a railway to su- 
perintend a terminal yard, whose duty it is to 
see to the proper switching and distribution of 
cars coming into the yard, and to the proper 
making up of trains to be sent out of the yard. 
yard-measure (yard'mezh"ur), n. A measure 
3 feet in length, made of either rigid or flexible 
material. 
yard-rope (yUrd'rop), ». Naut., a rope leading 
through a block or sheave at the masthead to 
send a topgallant- or royal-yard up or down. 
yard-slings (yard'slingz), 11. pi. Short lengths 
of chain extending from the middle of a lower 
yard to the lower masthead, to aid in support- 
ing the weight of the yard. 
yardsman (yardz'man), «. Same as yardman, 2. 
yardstick (yard'stik), w. 1. A stick or rod 
exactly 3 feet long, generally marked with sub- 
divisions, as quarters and eighths of the yard 
on the one side, and inches, or perhaps feet and 
inches, on the other. See yard^, »., 3, 4. 
The yardstick is divided in its practical use into halves, 
quarters, eighths, etc., by successive bisectiuns. 
Pop. Sci. Mo., XIII. 423. 
Let the yardstick dispute heraldic honors \vi tit the swoi-d. 
O. W. CuHis, Harper's Mag., LXXVII. 147. 
Hence — 2. Figuratively, a standard of mea- 
surement in general. 
Senator Thurinau was content to measure the Bland 
Bill with the naid stick uf the constitutional lawyer, and, 
finding full measure by that staiulard, to give it his ap- 
proval. N. A. Rei\, CXXVI. 507. 
yard-tackle (yard'tak'l), «. A large tackle 
used on the lower yards, in connection with 
the stay-taekles, for getting the boom-boats in 
and out, purchasing anchors, etc. Luce, Sea- 
manship, p. 77. 
yard-wand (yiird'wond), n. 1. A yardstick. 
Tlie smooth-faced snul)-no3ed rogue would leap from 
his counter an<] till. 
And strilie, if he could, were it but with his cheating 
yardwand, home. Tennyson, Maud, i. 13. 
2. [c«/).] See Orion, 1. 
yarel (yar), a. [< ME. yare, gare, < AS. yearn, 
(jearo {gearw-), ready, quick, prompt, = OS. 
(jaru = D. (laar, done, dressed (as meat), = 
OHG. garo {garaw-}, MHG. gare (garw-), G. gar, 
ready, complete, = Icel. giirr, gerr, perfect 
(Gotli. not recorded); cf. AS. earu = OS. am, 
ready, forms appar. related to the preceding, 
which must then contain a prefix, namely AS. 
gearii, < ge-, a collective or generalizing prefix, 
+ earn, ready. For another supposed instance 
of this prefix absorbed with the folio wing vowel, 
see go. The prefix is contained also in year)fi.'\ 
1. Keady; prepared. 
Which schip was parent, 
To fare forth at that Hod. 
WiUiam o/Palenie (E. E. T. S.), 1. 2729. 
This Tereus let make his sbippes vare. 
Chaucer, Good Women, 1. 2270. 
But afore ye ha'e your bow weel bent, 
And a' your arrows yare, 
I will flee till anither treej 
Whare I can better fare. 
L<jrd Randal (Child's Ballads, II. 24). 
The gunner held his linstock yare, 
For welcome-slKjt prepared. 
Scott, Marmion, i. 9. 
2. Prompt; active; brisk; sprightly. 
To oflyr loke that ye be yore. York Plays, p. 30. 
I do desire to learn, sir ; and I hope, if you have occa- 
sion to use me for your own turn, you shall find me yare. 
Shak., 11. for M., iv. 2. 61. 
The Spani.ard was as yare in slipping his chained Orap- 
nalls as Merhani was in cutting the tackling. 
Caiit. John Smith, True Travels, I. 5X 
3. Easily wrought ; answering quickly to the 
helm; manageable; swift: said of a ship. 
The lesser [ship] will come and go, leave and take, and 
is yare, whereas the other is slow. Ralevjh. 
Their ships are yare; yours, heavy. 
Shak., A. and C, iii. 7. 39. 
Like a new-rigg'd ship, both tight and yare. 
JUaseinr/er, Maid of Honour, ii. 2. 
[Now provincial in all uses.] 
7010 
yare^ (ySr), adv. [< ME. yore, gare, < AS. 
gearwe, readily, quickly (= D. gnar = OHG. 
garo, garawo, MHG. gare, gar, G. gar = Icel. 
gor-, ger-, giirv-, wholly, quite). < gearu, ready: 
see yare^, a.] Briskly; dexterously; yarely. 
[Scotch and prov. Eng.] 
Oure old lawes as now thei hatte [hate], 
And his kepis [keep] jare. 
York Plays, p. 213. 
Give me my robe, put on my crown : . . . 
Yare, yare, good Iras ; quick. 
Shak., A. and C, v. 2. 286. 
yare^, a. See yar'i. 
yarely (yar'li), «(7t). [<yare^+ -Jy'^.'] Readily; 
dexterously ; skilfully. 
Speak to the mariners ; fall to 't, yarely, or we run our- 
selves aground ; bestir, bestir. Shak., 'fempest, i. 1. 4. 
yarfcl (yark), v. t. [< ME. s^rken, gerkeii, < AS. 
gearcian, make ready, prepare, < geare, ready.] 
1. To make ready; prei)are. [Prov. Eng.] 
But gif we loue hym trewe, 
Houre peynys ben in helle, 
^arkyd euere newe. 
Holy Rood (E. E. T. S.), p. 151. 
For wite ge neuere who is worthi, ac god wote who hath 
nede, 
In hym that taketh is the treccherye, if any tresoun wawe. 
For he that siueth, geldeth, and .jarketh hym to Teste. 
Piers Ploimnan (B), vii. 80. 
In a night and a day would he liauc yarkl vp a Pam- 
phlet as well as in seauen yeare. 
Nashe, Strange Newes, quoted in Greene's Works 
[(ed. Dyce), p. xxxix. 
2t. To dispose. 
Thai kepyn the cloyse of this clene burgh. 
With gep men at the yatis jarkit full thik. 
Destruction 0/ Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 11264. 
3t. To set open; open. 
They golden hym the brode gate, parked vp wyde, 
(fe he hem raysed rekenly, & rod oner the brygge. 
Sir Oawayne and the Green Knight (E. E. T. S.), 1. 820. 
yark^ (yark), V. and n. A variant of yerlfl. 
Still yarkinff never leaves until himself he fling 
Above the streamful top of the surrounded heap. 
Drayton, Polyolbion, vi. 24. 
yark6 (yar'ke), n. The black white-headed 
saki, I'itheria leucocepkala, or other member of 
the same genus. 
yarly (yar'li), adv. An obsolete or dialectal 
form of early. 
W'hat, is he styrrynge so yarly this mornynge whiche 
dranke so moche yesternyghte? 
Palsgrave, Acolastus (1540). (Halliwell.) 
yarm (yarm), n. [< ME. garm, an outcry : see 
yarm, «.] An outcry; a noise. [Prov. Eng.] 
Such a gomerly ;jarin of gellyng tber rysed, 
Ther-of clatered the dondes that kryst mygt haf rawthe. 
Alliterative Poems (ed. Morris), ii. 971. 
yarm (yarm), V. i. [< ME. garmen, gernien, < AS. 
gyrman, make a noise, cry out.] 1. To cry 
out ; make a loud unjjleasant noise. [Prov. 
Eng.] 
The fend began to erie and ,^arm. 
MS. Lincoln. (Halliwell.) 
2. To scold; grumble. Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 
yarnl (yarn), «. [< ME. yarn, gam, gem, < AS. 
gcam, thread, yarn, = D. garen = OHG. MHG. 
G. gam = Sw. Dan. gam, thread, net; akin to 
Icel. gorn, pi. garuir, gut, G. gam, one of the 
stomachs of a ruminant, Gr.;i'<'/"'^> a cord, chord: 
see chord, cord'^, harnspcx, etc.] 1. Originally, 
thread of any kind si)un from natural fibers, 
vegetable or animal, or oven mineral; now, 
more usually, thread prepared for weaving, as 
distinguished from sewing-thread of any sort. 
The term is also applied to stout woolen thread 
used for knitting, etc. 
All the yarn she spun in Ulysses* absence did hut fill 
Ithaca full of moths. Shak. , Cor., i. 3. 93. 
With here and there a tuft of crimson yarn. 
Or scarlet crewel, in the cushion flx'd. 
Cowper, Task, i. 53. 
2. Rope-yarn. — 3. A story; a tale: often im- 
plying the marvelous or untrue : applied to a 
long story, with allusion to spinning yarn : as, 
do you expect us to believe such a yarn as that ? 
a sailors' yarn. [Colloq.] 
It is n't everybody that likes these sea-j/arn* as you do, 
Eve. No, I'll belay, and let my betters get a word in now. 
C. Reade, Love Me Little, iii. 
Connaught yam, a soft and elastic yarn jiroduced in 
Connaught, Ireland. — Cop-yam, the technical name for 
yarn as removed from the spindle. — Half- worsted yam. 
Sameassai/effc, 2.— Haulof yam. See Aaiii.— Lamb'8- 
wool yarn. See lamb's-wooL^Mixed yam, a yarn in 
whicli two or more flliei s are combined, as in a poplin, cas- 
sinette, tweeil, etcr.— Norwegian yam, lamb's-wool yam 
from the Scandinavian peninsula. It conies in the natu- 
ral colors, both black and gray.— Random yam. See 
random. — Rogue's yam. See roytu. — Saxony yam, a 
vai iety of Berlin wool.— Spun yam, to spin a yam, to 
spin street-yam. Sees/im.- Turkey yam. Sce^n- 
gora i/imt. nmler<;o«(i. — Worsted yam, yarn made from 
long-haired or combed wool, and consisting either entirely 
yarrow 
of wool, or of wool combined with mohair and alpaca, or of 
wool and cotton, or of wool and silk. Such yarns are called 
fancy yams, and are used in the manufacture of tibet, 
merino, etc.— Yam-assorter, a weighing-scale for in- 
dicating the fliH-ness of yarn by the weight of a skein ; 
a yarn scale.— Yam-flocking maclilne, a machine for 
twisting foreign materials, as feathers, into yarn, Uj pro- 
duce unique elfects.— Yam-washing loUers.an appa- 
ratus for washing yarn by the agency of a pair of pressure- 
rollera. 
yarni (yam), v. i. [< yam^, n.] To tell stories ; 
spin yarns. [Colloq., and originally nautical.] 
The time was the second dogwatch, and all the crew 
would be forward on the forecastle, yarning and smoking 
and taking sailors' pleasure. 
W. C. Russell, Jack's Courtship, xxx. 
The first lieutenant is yarning with me under the lee 
of the bulwarks. Scribner's Mag., VUl. 465. 
yarn^ (yam), r. t. Same as yearn^, a dialectal 
variant of eam^. 
When rain is a let to thy dooings abrode, 
Set threshers a threshing to laie on good lode : 
Thresh cleane ye must bid them, though lesser they yarn. 
And looking to thriue liaue an eie to thy barne. 
Tusser, Husbandry, p. 57. (Daries.) 
yam-beam (yam'bem), n. In wearing, the 
beam on which the warp-threads are wound. 
Also called yarn-roll. 
yam-clearer (yiim'kler"er), v. A fork or pair 
of blades, set nearly touching, so as to remove 
burls or unevenness from yarn passing between 
them. IC. H. Knight. 
yam-dresser (yiim'dres''''er), n. A machine 
for sizing, drying, and polishing yarns. 
yarnent (yiir'nen), a. [< yam^ + -e)i2.] Made 
of yarn ; consisting of yarn. 
A paire of yam^n stocks to keepe the colde away. 
HakluyVs Voyages, I. 388. 
yarn-meter (yarn'me'ter). n. In spinning, an 
attachment to a slubber, fly-frame, spinning- 
frame, or mule, for measuring the yarns as they 
are made. It indicates the amount in hanks 
and decimal parts of a hank. 
yam-printer (yarn'prin'ter), n. An appara- 
tus for applying color to yarns designed to be 
used in certain styles of carpets and in tapes- 
try ; a yam-printing machine for distributing 
the color at regular intervals on the yam, for 
the purpose of producing certain decorative 
patterns in weaving. 
yam-reel (yam'rel), n. A reel which winds 
the yarn from the cop or bobbin. 
yam-roll fyam'rol). «. Same as yarn-beam. 
yarn-scale (yam'skal), n. A scale for weighing 
certain lengths of yarn. 
yam-spooler (yam'spo'ler), n. A winding- 
machine for filling spools or bobbins for shut- 
tles or other purposes. E. B. Knight. 
yam-tester (yiirn ' tes " ter), w. l. An appa- 
ratus for testing the strength of yams and 
finding their elastic limit or stretch'. The yam 
to be tested is placed on two hooks, that are slowly 
drawn ajiart by means of a screw till the yarn breaks. 
A dial indicates the breaking-strain of the yarn in pounds, 
and another dial records the elastic limit. 
2. A device for reeling yarn on a blackened 
cylinder, to throw it into sharp contrast, for 
the purpose of examining it for quality, even- 
ness, etc. 
yamut, «. See yernut. 
yam-'Winder (yarn'win"der), «. A yarn-reel 
or a yarn-spooler. 
yarpna (yiir'fii), n. A kind of peaty soil; a 
soil in whicli peat predominates. [Orkney 
and Shetland.] 
We turn pasture to tillage, and barley into aitp, and 
heather into greensward, and tlie poor parpha, as the be- 
nighted creatures here call their peat-bogs, into baittle 
grass-land. Scotl, Pirate, xxxv. 
yarrl (yar), n. [Perhaps connected with yar- 
row.'i The eom-spurry, S;)fr(7«to an'ejisis. See 
spurry. 
yarr-, r. i. See yar'>. 
yarringle (yar'ing-gl), ». [Also yartcingle; < 
ME. "garu-yngyV, gartryngyll, gartcyndyl, gar- 
u-yndyl, gameiryndel ; < yarn + irindle.) An 
old-fashioned instrument for winding yarn by 
hand into balls. Also called a pair of yarrin- 
ijles. Prompt. Porr.. pp. 188 and 536." (Halli- 
well.) [Prov. Eng.] 
yarrish (yiir'ish), a. [< yar^ + -!«7(1.] Hav- 
ing a rough, dry taste. Bailey. [Prov. Eng.] 
yarrow (yar'6), n. [< ME. yarowe, garoice, 
yarwe, gar we, K AS. gearuue. gearwe, gsermce, 
yarrow, = D. gene = OHG. garawa, garha, 
MHG. gartce, G. garhe, yarrow ; origin un- 
known. Connection with AS. gcarwion, make 
ready (< gearu, ready, yare), is improbable, on 
account of the difference of meaning.] The 
milfoil, Achillea Millefolium. See milfoil, and 
cut on following page. 
