gierd

Old English

ġierd f

rod, staff
- c. 995, Ælfric, Extracts on Grammar in English
  Iċ wille þē slēan mid ġierde.
  I want to hit you with a rod.
- Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church
  Þā cwæð sē Ælmihtiġa tō Moysen, "Āstreċe ðīne hand ofer ðā sǣ, and tōdǣl hī." And Moyses ðā slōh þǣre sǣ ofer mid his ġyrde, and sēo sǣ tōēode on twā, and eal þæt Israhela folc ēode ofer ðā sǣ bē drīum grunde, and þæt wæter stōd him on twā healfa swilċe ōðer stānweall.
  Then the Almighty said to Moses: "Stretch forth thy hand over the sea, and divide it." And then Moses struck the sea with his staff, and the sea divided in two, and all the Israelites crossed over the sea on dry ground, and the water stood in two halves like stone walls.
branch, twig
(unit of measurement) the rod, perch, or pole of around 15 feet used in computing acres
(unit of measurement) the yard, yardland, or virgate of around 30 acres used in dividing hides of land

The predecessor of the English term yard (measure of length) and sometimes translated as such, but probably not ever equal to an ell (ulna) of 3 feet until the Middle English period.

Strong i-stem: