Etymograph

English

switchyard

From switch + yard.

A compound of switch + yard

Middle Dutch swijch ‘twig’

English switch

Proto-Indo-European *gʰerdʰ- ‘to enclose’

…

Proto-Germanic *gardaz ‘enclosure’

Proto-West Germanic *gard ‘enclosure’

Old English ġeard ‘yard’

Middle English yerd ‘the property surrounding an estate or manor’

English yard

Today it means

noun Part of a railway with an arrangement of switches (or points) allowing trains to be diverted and reassembled.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “switchyard”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / switchyard

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