aver2 (aver)

[Sc. aver, aiver (def. 3); 394 lective sing. arose its use in the plural, in the special sense of stock, cattle, whence a new sing. (ML. averia, averius, as well as averum, averium ), a beast of burden.] 1. Substance; property; estate. March aunt he was of gret avoir . Seuyn Sages , 1. 2205, in Weber's Metr. Rom., III. IMG:content-1447.png:[blocks in formation] 21. pl. Live stock; cattle; domestic animals.- equal to that of the average modern European. 3. A beast of burden; a draft-ox or draft horse; an old horse. [North. Eng. and Scotch.] An inch of a nag is worth a span of an aver. In Ray , Proverbs (1678), p. 36. averagel (av'e-raj), n. [= Sc. avarage , contr. arrage , arage , now arriage , esp. in the combination arriage and carriage ; averagium or OF. ave rage , appar. the same, with suffix -age , as ML. avera , a kind of service mentioned in Domesday Book: usually referred to aver , a beast of burden, and defined accordingly; but this is doubtful, avera being more prob. a reflex, simulating aver , of OF. ovre , ævre , mod. F. œuvre , opera , work: see opera , ure2 , manœuver .] In old law , a kind of service owed by tenants to their superior. The nature of the service is not clear. It is usually explained as service done with beasts of burden, but this appears to rest on a doubtful etymology (see above). average (av'e-raj), n. and a. [Early mod. E. also averige , ave ridge , avaridge , average , the same, with suffix -age (found only in E. and Anglo-L. averagium ), as late ME. averays (for averys ?), avaris , "decay of wares or merchandise, leaking of wines, also the charges of the carriage or measuring thereon, also the fees or veils of a cook, etc." (Cotgrave), sing. prop. avarie = Sp. avería = Pg. It. avaria , in ML. ava ria , averia ; cf. MD. avarij , D. haverij = G.hafe rei , haverie = Dan. havari = Sw. haver i , from Rom. Origin disputed; the orig. sense, 'a duty on goo goods,' suggests a connection with ML. ave- ria , goods, property: see aver2 . Perhaps ava- nia , through its appar. more orig. form avaria , is to be referred to the same source: see avania .] I. n. 1. (at) A duty or tax upon goods. (b) A small charge payable by the shippers of goods to the master of the ship, over and above the freight, for his care of the goods. Hence the clause, in bills of lading, "paying so much freight, with primage and average accustomed." (c) A small charge paid by the master on account of the ship and cargo, such as pilotage, towage, etc.: called more specifically petty average . (d) A lo , or the sum paid on account of a lo (such as that of an anchor), when the general safety is not in question, and which falls on the owner of the particular property lost: called more specifically particular average . (e) A contribution made by the owners of a ship's freight and cargo, in proportion to their several interests, to make good a lo that has been sustained or an expense incurred for the general safety of the ship and cargo. Thus, when for the safety of a ship in distre any destruction of property is incurred, either by cutting away the masts, throwing goods overboard, or ways, all persons who have goods on board or property in the ship (or the insurers) contribute to the lo according to their aver- age, that is, according to the proportionate value of the goods of each on board. Average in this sense is also called general average . 2. A sum or quantity intermediate to a num- ber of different sums or quantities, obtained by adding them together and dividing the result by the number of quantities added; an arith- metical mean proportion. Thus, if four persons lose respectively $10, $20, $30, and $40, the aver- age lo by the four is $25. Hence-3. Any medial amount, estimate, or general statement based on a comparison of a number of diverse specific cases; a medium. A like number of men, through various kinds and degrees of ill-succe , reveal a mental capacity that is more or le below the average. J. Fiske, Evolutionist, p. 177. Yet I have no doubt that that people's rulers are as wise as the average of civilized rulers. Thoreau , Walden, p. 39. Average bond. See bond 1.- Upon or on an average, taking the arithmetical mean of several unequal numbers or quantities; taking the arithmetical mean deduced from a great number of examples. On an average the male and female births are tolerably equal. Buckle , Civilization, I. iv. = Syn. 2 and 3. Medium, etc. See mean, n. II. a. 1. Equal in amount to the sum of all the particular quantities of the same sort divided by the number of them: as, the average yield of wheat to the acre; the average price of anything for a year. They all [the Palæocosmic skeletons] represent a race of grand physical development, and of cranial capacity Dawson, Nature and the Bible, p. 174. The average intellect of five hundred persons, taken as they come, is not very high. O. W. Holmes , Autocrat, vi. We mortals cro the ocean of this world Each in his average cabin of a life- The best's not big, the worst yields elbow-room. Browning , Bishop Blougram's Apology. 3. Estimated in accordance with the rules of average: as, the lo was made good by an average contribution. - Average curvature. See curvature.-Average standard, copper - mining, the market value of a ton of tough-cake copper. It formerly served as a basis for estimating the amount to be paid by the smelters to the miners for ores of copper purchased. [Cornwall.]=Syn. See mean, n. average2 (av'e-raj), v. t.; pret. and pp. averaged, ppr. averaging. [ These spars average 10 feet in length. Belknap . 3. To divide among a number proportionally; divide the total amount of by the number of equal shares: as, to average a lo . The permanent averaged price on all kinds of commodities. English Rev., VI. 261.