average

[AvĀ·er*age]

If something is average, it's ordinary and not very special. You might say a movie was average if you thought it was just okay.

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That service which a tenant owed his lord, to be done by the work beasts of the tenant, as the carriage of wheat, turf, etc.

Noun
a statistic describing the location of a distribution; "it set the norm for American homes"

Verb
compute the average of

Verb
achieve or reach on average; "He averaged a C"

Verb
amount to or come to an average, without loss or gain; "The number of hours I work per work averages out to 40"

Adjective S.
lacking special distinction, rank, or status; commonly encountered; "average people"; "the ordinary (or common) man in the street"

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Adjective S.
around the middle of a scale of evaluation of physical measures; "an orange of average size"; "intermediate capacity"; "a plane with intermediate range"; "medium bombers"

Adjective S.
approximating the statistical norm or average or expected value; "the average income in New England is below that of the nation"; "of average height for his age"; "the mean annual rainfall"

Adjective S.
relating to or constituting the middle value of an ordered set of values (or the average of the middle two in an even-numbered set); "the median value of 17, 20, and 36 is 20"; "the median income for the year was $15,000"

Adjective S.
relating to or constituting the most frequent value in a distribution; "the modal age at which American novelists reach their peak is 30"

Adjective S.
of no exceptional quality or ability; "a novel of average merit"; "only a fair performance of the sonata"; "in fair health"; "the caliber of the students has gone from mediocre to above average"; "the performance was middling at best"


n.
That service which a tenant owed his lord, to be done by the work beasts of the tenant, as the carriage of wheat, turf, etc.

n.
A tariff or duty on goods, etc.

n.
Any charge in addition to the regular charge for freight of goods shipped.

n.
A contribution to a loss or charge which has been imposed upon one of several for the general benefit; damage done by sea perils.

n.
The equitable and proportionate distribution of loss or expense among all interested.

n.
A mean proportion, medial sum or quantity, made out of unequal sums or quantities; an arithmetical mean. Thus, if A loses 5 dollars, B 9, and C 16, the sum is 30, and the average 10.

n.
Any medial estimate or general statement derived from a comparison of diverse specific cases; a medium or usual size, quantity, quality, rate, etc.

n.
In the English corn trade, the medial price of the several kinds of grain in the principal corn markets.

a.
Pertaining to an average or mean; medial; containing a mean proportion; of a mean size, quality, ability, etc.; ordinary; usual; as, an average rate of profit; an average amount of rain; the average Englishman; beings of the average stamp.

a.
According to the laws of averages; as, the loss must be made good by average contribution.

v. t.
To find the mean of, when sums or quantities are unequal; to reduce to a mean.

v. t.
To divide among a number, according to a given proportion; as, to average a loss.

v. t.
To do, accomplish, get, etc., on an average.

v. i.
To form, or exist in, a mean or medial sum or quantity; to amount to, or to be, on an average; as, the losses of the owners will average twenty five dollars each; these spars average ten feet in length.


Average

Av"er*age , n. [OF. average, LL. averagium, prob. fr. OF. aver, F. avoir, property, horses, cattle, etc.; prop. infin., to have, from L. habere to have. Cf. F. av'82rage small cattle, and avarie (perh. of different origin) damage to ship or cargo, port dues. The first meaning was pe the service of carting a feudal lord's wheat, then charge for carriage, the contribution towards loss of things carried, in proportion to the amount of each person's property. Cf. Aver, n., Avercorn, Averpenny.] 1. (OLd Eng. Law) That service which a tenant owed his lord, to be done by the work beasts of the tenant, as the carriage of wheat, turf, etc. 2. [Cf. F. avarie damage to ship or cargo.] (Com.) (a) A tariff or duty on goods, etc. [Obs.] (b) Any charge in addition to the regular charge for freight of goods shipped. (c) A contribution to a loss or charge which has been imposed upon one of several for the general benefit; damage done by sea perils. (d) The equitable and proportionate distribution of loss or expense among all interested. General average, a contribution made, by all parties concerned in a sea adventure, toward a loss occasioned by the voluntary sacrifice of the property of some of the parties in interest for the benefit of all. It is called general average, because it falls upon the gross amount of ship, cargo, and freight at risk and saved by the sacrifice. Kent. -- Particular average signifies the damage or partial loss happening to the ship, or cargo, or freight, in consequence of some fortuitous or unavoidable accident; and it is borne by the individual owners of the articles damaged, or by their insurers. -- Petty averages are sundry small charges, which occur regularly, and are necessarily defrayed by the master in the usual course of a voyage; such as port charges, common pilotage, and the like, which formerly were, and in some cases still are, borne partly by the ship and partly by the cargo. In the clause commonly found in bills of lading, "primage and average accustomed," average means a kind of composition established by usage for such charges, which were formerly assessed by way of average. Arnould. Abbott. Phillips. 3. A mean proportion, medial sum or quantity, made out of unequal sums or quantities; an arithmetical mean. Thus, if A loses 5 dollars, B 9, and C 16, the sum is 30, and the average 10. 4. Any medial estimate or general statement derived from a comparison of diverse specific cases; a medium or usual size, quantity, quality, rate, etc. "The average of sensations." Paley. 5. pl. In the English corn trade, the medial price of the several kinds of grain in the principal corn markets. On an average, taking the mean of unequal numbers or quantities.

Average

Av"er*age , a. 1. Pertaining to an average or mean; medial; containing a mean proportion; of a mean size, quality, ability, etc.; ordinary; usual; as, an average rate of profit; an average amount of rain; the average Englishman; beings of the average stamp. 2. According to the laws of averages; as, the loss must be made good by average contribution.

Average

Av"er*age, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Averaged (); p. pr. & vb. n. Averaging.] 1. To find the mean of, when sums or quantities are unequal; to reduce to a mean. 2. To divide among a number, according to a given proportion; as, to average a loss. 3. To do, accomplish, get, etc., on an average.

Average

Av"er*age, v. i. To form, or exist in, a mean or medial sum or quantity; to amount to, or to be, on an ~; as, the losses of the owners will average twenty five dollars each; these spars average ten feet in length.

That service which a tenant owed his lord, to be done by the work beasts of the tenant, as the carriage of wheat, turf, etc.

Pertaining to an average or mean; medial; containing a mean proportion; of a mean size, quality, ability, etc.; ordinary; usual; as, an average rate of profit; an average amount of rain; the average Englishman; beings of the average stamp.

To find the mean of, when sums or quantities are unequal; to reduce to a mean.

To form, or exist in, a mean or medial sum or quantity; to amount to, or to be, on an ~; as, the losses of the owners will average twenty five dollars each; these spars average ten feet in length.

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Usage Examples

Even crushed against his brother in the Tube the average Englishman pretends desperately that he is alone.

Al Gore, the former vice-president of the United States, lives in a mansion that uses more electricity than the average family's bungalow! David Suzuki rides on a bus that uses more fuel than a Smart car to get across Canada! Oh my God! And this is just the tip of the vanishing iceberg!

I am regularly asked what the average Internet user can do to ensure his security. My first answer is usually 'Nothing you're screwed'.

Almost all the fans I meet are pretty cool people. They're intelligent and tend to think about things a bit more than your average rock'n'roll fans: sensible people I wouldn't mind having a drink with.

America believes in education: the average professor earns more money in a year than a professional athlete earns in a whole week.

I don't know if the average person really has faith in Washington anymore.

Hispanic unemployment is higher than the national average and when the federal government is killing small businesses and killing jobs it is hurting the future of the Hispanic community and we need to carry that message.

Good leadership consists of showing average people how to do the work of superior people.

Misspelled Form

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Other Usage Examples

Great minds discuss ideas average minds discuss events small minds discuss people.

Great people talk about ideas, average people talk about things, and small people talk about wine.

Economists are coming to acknowledge that measures of national wealth and poverty in terms strictly of average income tell you little that is significant of the health or viability of a society.

Being a star has made it possible for me to get insulted in places where the average Negro could never hope to go and get insulted.

Four years of football are calculated to breed in the average man more of the ingredients of success in life than almost any academic course he takes.

A fairly bright boy is far more intelligent and far better company than the average adult.

I am only an average man but, by George, I work harder at it than the average man.

Good management consists in showing average people how to do the work of superior people.

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