2. A short measure of 4 to 6 spans; Fr. verge.
3. A pole of indefinite length, in various senses, naval, &c. Fr. verge, vergue.
4. A long measure of 9 to 24 feet = rod, pole, perch. In France the perche may be from 9-1/2 feet (Burgundy) to 22 feet (French).
5. A measure of surface 9 to 24 feet square. Yard, Fr. verge.
6. A larger measure of surface 40 × 1 rod = a quarter-acre. Yard-land, rood, Fr. vergée.
7. A quarter of a still larger unit. Virgata, yard-land.
8. A holding of a rood when enclosed became a yard or garth, then a cultivated enclosure of any size: tree-yard (Du. boom-gaard), apple-garth, win-gaard (vineyard).[[18]]
Here the Fr. verge parts company with ‘yard’; its place is taken by cour (L. curtiferum) and G. hof.
9. Any enclosed land attached to a house: Palace-yard, Fr. cour. Farm-yard, Fr. basse-cour. Court-yard, G. hof. Court = farmyard in Somerset.
Fr. verge reappears in the English form of ‘verge’ in the sense of a circle or ring, AS. gyrd, now ‘girth.’ The gyrd was a geard or yard bent into a hoop. Fr. verge = ring was a verge or rod bent into a hoop or ring. Cf. Fr. bague, ring made by bending a rod or baguette into a hoop. The English sense of ‘verge’ = circle is seen in: