Editing Yard (section)

===Origin===
The origin of the yard measure is uncertain. Both the [[Roman units|Romans]] and the [[Welsh units|Welsh]] used multiples of a shorter [[foot (unit)|foot]], but {{frac|2|1|2}}&nbsp;[[Roman feet]] was a "[[step (unit)|step]]" ({{langx|la|gradus|link=no}}) and 3&nbsp;[[Welsh feet]] was a "[[pace (unit)|pace]]" ({{langx|cy|cam}}). The [[Proto-Germanic]] [[cubit]] or arm's-length has been [[linguistic reconstruction|reconstructed]] as *''alinô'', which developed into the [[Old English]] {{lang|ang|eln}}, [[Middle English]] {{lang|enm|elne}}, and modern [[ell]] of {{cvt|1.25|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 of England|Henry&nbsp;I]]'s arm standard ([[#Henry I|see below]]). Based on the [[#Name|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 [[units of volume|cubic measure]].{{citation needed|date=September 2021}} One official British report writes:

{{quote|text=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.<ref>{{cite book|title=Report from the Select Committee on Weights and Measures; together with the Proceedings of the Committee, Minutes of Evidence, Appendix and Index.|date=4 August 1862|location=London|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wI7nAAAAMAAJ}}</ref>}}