Convert Yard (yd) to Ell (ell) instantly.
About these units
Yard (yd)
A yard equals 3 feet or 36 inches and serves as a mid-range imperial length unit. Historically, one definition of the yard was the distance from the tip of King Henry I's nose to his thumb when his arm was extended, though later attempts standardized the measure. Today, yards appear in sports (football, golf), textiles (fabric sales), and landscaping. In construction and engineering, the yard is sometimes used for larger distances where a foot would be too small a unit and a mile too large. Because it divides cleanly into both inches and feet, the yard plays a structural role in the imperial measurement system. It bridges the gap between human-scale and large-scale distances.
Ell (ell)
The ell is a traditional European unit of length, varying between 45–70 cm depending on the region. It originated from the forearm or arm length and became standardized in many countries for measuring cloth and textiles. In commerce, the ell simplified transactions, allowing merchants to describe fabric lengths efficiently. In tailoring, it offered a consistent basis for cutting and patterning clothing. The unit was essential in guild systems, where precision and repeatability in textile production were critical. While largely obsolete today due to the metric system, the ell remains significant for historians, textile scholars, and anyone studying pre-modern European commerce and craft practices.