Availability

Quality or state of being available; state of suitability to a certain purpose. Available, a. [0. Fr. available.] That one may avail one's self of; profitable; advantageous. -Having efficacy; able or sufficient to effect the object; valid. "Drake put one of his men to death, having no authority nor commi ion available."- Sir W. Raleigh. Availablene , n . State or quality of being available. -Competent power; legal force; validity. Availably, adv . In an available manner; validly; profitably. Aval', n . [Fr.] ( Law .) In French, and in Canadian law, an aval is an act of suretyship, or guarantee on a promi ory note. Avalanche, in Wisconsin , a post-office of Vernon co. Avalon. ( Lit. ) In med iæval romances, A. is the name of an island in the ocean, po e ing a castle of loadstone. It is most fully described in the old French romance of Ogier le Danois. - A., as the abode of King Arthur, the old British hero, is generally identified with what is called the "Isle of Glastonbury," in Somersets hire, England. Avalon, or Av'all on, ( av'a - long ,) (ane. Aballo .) A handsome, and ancient town of France, dep. Yonne, cap. of an arrond. on the Cousin, 25 m. S.S.E. of Auxerre. Avalon, in New Jersey , a seaside resort of Cape May co. Av'alon, a large peninsula of Newfoundland, in its S.E. part, between Trinity Bay on the N., and Placentia Bay on the S. Av'alon, in Maryland, a village of Baltimore co., on the Patapsco river, about 10 m. W.S.W. of Baltimore. Av'alos, a noble Neapolitan family of Spanish origin, of whom we mention:- A. , FERDINAND D', Marquis de Pescara; B. at Naples in 1490. He served with distinction in the army of Charles V., and was taken prisoner by the French at the battle of Ravenna, in 1512. He beguiled the hours of captivity by writing a Dialogue on Love , which he dedicated to his wife, the beautiful and accomplished Vittoria Colonna. He soon recovered his liberty, and subsequently displayed extraordinary ability in the wars of Charles V. The honor of the battles of Biocca and Pavia was due to A. alone; he was severely wounded in the latter engagement, and died in consequence, 1525. Avant, ( a - võng ' ,) a French preposition answering to our before. It is found in many French compound words; as, avant - goût , fore-taste, pregustation; avant - propos, preliminary matter, preface. Avant-courier, ( a - vong -kooreer,) n. [Fr. avant- cou reur.] A me enger sent in advance of a person, or company of persons, to announce his, or their approach. Avant'. Avant-guard, n . [Fr. avant - garde .] ( Mil .) The van, or advanced body of an army. See VANGUARD. Avanturine, n. ( Min . ) See AVENTURINE. Avares, or Avari. ( Hist .) The name of a Mongolian race that, about 100 years after the Bulgarians, made their appearance in Europe, in the countries about the Don and Volga. They have been surmised to be the Aorsi , or Adorsi , of Strabo. A portion of them remained at the Caucasus, while another portion of them, about the middle of the 6th century, pa ed on to the Danube, and settled in Dacia. Here they served in Just in i an's army, a isted the Lombards to destroy the kingdom of the Gepidæ, and gradually conquered, toward the end of the 6th century, under the powerful Khan Bajan, the region of Pannonia. Afterwards they conquered Dalmatia; devastated Germany as far as Thu ring i a; made incursions into Italy, where they combated the Franks and Lombards; and extended, finally, their dominion over the Sclavonians dwelling on the Danube and northward, as well as over the Bulgarians on the Black Sea. At length, these various nations confederated against the A. , and, in 640, drove them out of Dalmatia. Confined to Pannonia, they were subjugated by Charlemagne in 796, and were afterwards nearly extirpated by the Moravians and Petscheneges. After 827 they disappear from history.