Etymology: In Old French average (Godefroy) and medieval (Anglo-) Latin averagium, apparently the same as avera in Domesday Book, explained by Spelman as ‘one day's work which the king's tenants gave to the sheriff.’ In the vernacular form, only in Scotch, where also phonetically worn down to arage (compare laverok, lark, favorand, farrand), and spelt arriage in association with carriage. Origin uncertain. Early explanations evidently treated avera as latinized form of Old French ovre, œvre work. Sir J. Skene referred it to aver ‘beast of burden,’ and so explained the meaning; but his proposed explanation (since repeated in the Law dictionaries) is hardly supported by the early use of averagium and Old French average. Danish hoveri ‘average, soccage-duty,’ suggested by Wedgwood, is (with its Romance suffix) a more recent word than averagium, and not possibly its source. Mr. C. I. Elton, from the actual use of avera, is disposed to revert to the idea of referring it to Old French ovre, œvre, its form being perhaps affected by the use of avere, aver, for property and cattle. He compares averagium with French ouvrage, and medieval Latin operagium.

Etymology: Appears first c1500: the corresponding term in French is avarie , Cotgrave 1611 avaris (? plural), Catalan averia , Spanish averia (also found as haberia ), Portuguese avaria , Italian avaria ; also in Dutch avarij , haverij , German hafarei , havarie , Danish havari , all from the Romance languages. The earliest instances occur in connection with the maritime trade of the Mediterranean; but the derivation is uncertain (see below). The English auerays (plural) in Arnold's Chron. (if not a misprint) was probably meant for the French word; the form average (also in Arnold's Chron.) is confined to English, and evidently formed on the model of lodemanage (pilotage), primage , etc.: see -age suffix.Few words have received more etymological investigation: see Diez, Dozy, Littré, Wedgwood, E. Müller, Skeat, etc., and especially the fruitful researches of the late G. P. Marsh in the American edition of Wedgwood (New York 1861). The latter has conclusively shown that, as a maritime term, avaria , averia , was first used in the Mediterranean, and that its original meaning was duty charged upon goods. In connexion with this cf. also quotations from Muratori Chron. Parmense (in Du Cange s.v. Averia ), e.g. Conscenderint lembum Averiæ ad excipiendos prædictos galeones , ‘they went on board the revenue cutter to intercept the aforesaid galleons.’ These results quite dispose of the two derivations suggested in Diez from German hafen haven, and Arabic ʿawâr loss, damage, the latter being merely a modern Arabic translation and adaptation of the western term in its latest sense. Mr. Marsh's connection of the word with the Arabic or Turkish avania , avaria , is of great weight; but as said under avania n., that word is more probably adopted from the Franks. May not averia be a derivative of Italian avere , Old French aveir , property, goods (see aver n.), in sense of ‘charge on property or goods’? Compare such terms as tonnage, poundage, pollage (charge on polls). The chief difficulty lies in the early Italian form avaria, not averia, and French avarie: the Catalan has however been averia since 13th cent.: see Marsh on Spanish and Catalan use of the word, and Averia, Avaria in Du Cange. It is to be noted that Old French avarie was used of other than maritime dues or charges; in a document dated Nicosia, 18 March 1468, in De Mas Latrie, Histoire de Chypre III. 276, the owner of a mill is bound ‘de paier l'ensencive (= cens) de l'abaie de Bibi, et tout autre avarie que le dit moulin paie aujourdhui.’ Cf. also certain uses of avérage in Godefroy.

Etymology: Etymology uncertain: see quot. 1674. No such sense of medieval Latin averagium or Old French average . Compare arrish n.

Etymology: attributive use of average n.² 5.

Etymology: < average n.² 5; = ‘calculate or estimate by average’; compare to proportion, square, cube, double, etc.