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Ger is spear, as in Gerald and, I suspect, Gareth; and gard is just our word "yard" with one little sound change. So it's a matter of going back to where the original name was used, to find out which of these units was in, or most prominent in, the language of those people.

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Enclosures were made for protection! Protect yourself and your livestock from wild animals and wilder humans = build an enclosure. Ask any pioneer. And then it's your own personal space, like the home of the gods. I suppose a spear is also a way of protecting, though in a very different way ... .