The exterior area of a
home surrounding the most commonly used entryway, typically the driveway area; A logical extension of "barnyard," "back
yard" and "front
yard," it is likely that this compound word grew out of a necessity to distinguish working areas from living areas. In a practice common to the region, homes were attached to barns and other out-buildings; dooryard identifies the exterior area of a
home not given over to farming. A household word in the County, dooryard is seldom heard elsewhere.