Avalanche Av"aˇlanche` noun [ French avalanche , from avaler to descend, to let down, from aval down, downward; ... (L. ad ) + val , Latin vallis , valley. See Valley .] 1. A large mass or body of snow and ice sliding swiftly down a mountain side, or falling down a precipice.

2. A fall of earth, rocks, etc., similar to that of an avalanche of snow or ice.

3. A sudden, great, or irresistible descent or influx of anything.

Avale Aˇvale" transitive verb & i. [ French avaler to descend, to let down. See Avalanche .] 1. To cause to descend; to lower; to let fall; to doff. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

2. To bring low; to abase. [ Obsolete] Sir H. Wotton.

3. (intransitive verb ) To descend; to fall; to dismount. [ Obsolete]

And from their sweaty courses did avale .
Spenser.

Avant Aˇvant" noun [ For avant-guard . Confer Avaunt , Van .] The front of an army. [ Obsolete] See Van .

Avant-courier Aˇvant"-cou`riˇer noun [ French, from avant before + courrier . See Avaunt , and Courier .] A person dispatched before another person or company, to give notice of his or their approach.

Avant-guard Aˇvant"-guard` noun [ French avant before + English guard , French avant-garde . See Avaunt .] The van or advanced body of an army. See Vanguard .

Avarice Av"aˇrice (ăv"ȧ*rĭs) noun [ French avaritia , from avarus avaricious, probably from avēre to covet, from a root av to satiate one's self: confer Greek 'a`menai , 'a^sai , to satiate, Sanskrit av to satiate one's self, rejoice, protect.] 1. An excessive or inordinate desire of gain; greediness after wealth; covetousness; cupidity.

To desire money for its own sake, and in order to hoard it up, is avarice .
Beattie.

2. An inordinate desire for some supposed good.

All are taught an avarice of praise.
Goldsmith.

Avaricious Av`aˇri"cious adjective [ Confer French avaricieux .] Actuated by avarice; greedy of gain; immoderately desirous of accumulating property.

Syn. -- Greedy; stingy; rapacious; griping; sordid; close. -- Avaricious , Covetous , Parsimonious , Penurious , Miserly , Niggardly . The avaricious eagerly grasp after it at the expense of others, though not of necessity with a design to save, since a man may be covetous and yet a spendthrift. The penurious , parsimonious , and miserly save money by disgraceful self- denial, and the niggardly by meanness in their dealing with others. We speak of persons as covetous in getting, avaricious in retaining, parsimonious in expending, penurious or miserly in modes of living, niggardly in dispensing.

-- Av`a*ri"cious*ly , adverb -- Av`a*ri"cious*ness , noun

Avarous Av"aˇrous adjective [ Latin avarus .] Avaricious. [ Obsolete]

Avast Aˇvast" interj. [ Corrupted from Dutch houd vast hold fast. See Hold , transitive verb , and Fast , adjective ] (Nautical) Cease; stop; stay. " Avast heaving." Totten.

Avatar Av`aˇtar" noun [ Sanskrit avatâra descent; ava from + root tr to cross, pass over.] 1. (Hindoo Myth.) The descent of a deity to earth, and his incarnation as a man or an animal; -- chiefly associated with the incarnations of Vishnu.

2. Incarnation; manifestation as an object of worship or admiration.

Avaunce Aˇvaunce" transitive verb & i. [ See Advance .] To advance; to profit. Chaucer.

Avaunt Aˇvaunt" interj. [ French avant forward, from Latin ab + ante before. Confer Avant , Advance .] Begone; depart; -- a word of contempt or abhorrence, equivalent to the phrase "Get thee gone."

Avaunt Aˇvaunt" transitive verb & i. 1. To advance; to move forward; to elevate. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

2. To depart; to move away. [ Obsolete] Coverdale.

Avaunt Aˇvaunt" transitive verb & i. [ Old French avanter ; Ă  (L. ad ) + vanter . See Vaunt .] To vaunt; to boast. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Avaunt Aˇvaunt" noun A vaunt; to boast. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Avauntour Aˇvaunt"our noun [ Old French avanteur .] A boaster. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Ave A"ve noun [ Latin , hail.] 1. An ave Maria.

He repeated Aves and Credos.
Macaulay.

2. A reverential salutation.

Their loud applause and aves vehement.
Shak.

Ave Maria, Ave Mary A"ve Maˇri"a, A"ve Ma"ry [ From the first words of the Roman Catholic prayer to the Virgin Mary; Latin ave hail, Maria Mary.] 1. A salutation and prayer to the Virgin Mary, as mother of God; -- used in the Roman Catholic church.

To number Ave Maries on his beads.
Shak.

2. A particular time (as in Italy, at the ringing of the bells about half an hour after sunset, and also at early dawn), when the people repeat the Ave Maria.

Ave Maria ! blessed be the hour !
Byron.

Avel Aˇvel transitive verb [ Latin avellere .] To pull away. [ Obsolete]

Yet are not these parts avelled .
Sir T. Browne.

Avellane Aˇvel"lane adjective [ Confer Italian avellana a filbert, from Latin Avella or Abella a city of Campania.] (Her.) In the form of four unhusked filberts; as, an avellane cross.

Avena Aˇve"na noun [ Latin ] (Botany) A genus of grasses, including the common oat ( Avena sativa ); the oat grasses.

Avenaceous Av`eˇna"ceous adjective [ Latin avenaceus , from avena oats.] Belonging to, or resembling, oats or the oat grasses.

Avenage Av"eˇnage noun [ French avenage , from Latin avena oats.] (Old Law) A quantity of oats paid by a tenant to a landlord in lieu of rent. Jacob.

Avenalin Aˇven"aˇlin noun [ Latin avena eats.] (Chemistry) A crystalline globulin, contained in oat kernels, very similar in composition to excelsin, but different in reactions and crystalline form.

Avener Av"eˇner noun [ Old French avenier , from aveine , avaine , avoine , oats, French avoine , Latin avena .] (Feud. Law) An officer of the king's stables whose duty it was to provide oats for the horses. [ Obsolete]

Avenge Aˇvenge" transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Avenged ; present participle & verbal noun Avenging ] [ Old French avengier ; Latin ad + vindicare to lay claim to, to avenge, revenge. See Vengeance .] 1. To take vengeance for; to exact satisfaction for by punishing the injuring party; to vindicate by inflicting pain or evil on a wrongdoer.

He will avenge the blood of his servants.
Deut. xxxii. 43.

Avenge , O Lord, thy slaughtered saints, whose bones
Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold.
Milton.

He had avenged himself on them by havoc such as England had never before seen.
Macaulay.

2. To treat revengefully; to wreak vengeance on. [ Obsolete]

Thy judgment in avenging thine enemies.
Bp. Hall.

Syn. -- To Avenge , Revenge . To avenge is to inflict punishment upon evil doers in behalf of ourselves, or others for whom we act; as, to avenge one's wrongs; to avenge the injuries of the suffering and innocent. It is to inflict pain for the sake of vindication, or retributive justice. To revenge is to inflict pain or injury for the indulgence of resentful and malicious feelings. The former may at times be a duty; the latter is one of the worst exhibitions of human character.

I avenge myself upon another, or I avenge another, or I avenge a wrong. I revenge only myself, and that upon another.
C. J. Smith.

Avenge Aˇvenge" intransitive verb To take vengeance. Levit. xix. 18.

Avenge Aˇvenge" noun Vengeance; revenge. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

Avengeance Aˇvenge"ance noun Vengeance. [ Obsolete]

Avengeful Aˇvenge"ful adjective Vengeful. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

Avengement Aˇvenge"ment noun The inflicting of retributive punishment; satisfaction taken. [ R.] Milton.

Avenger Aˇven"ger noun 1. One who avenges or vindicates; as, an avenger of blood.

2. One who takes vengeance. [ Obsolete] Milton.

Avengeress Aˇven"gerˇess noun A female avenger. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

Avenious Aˇve"niˇous adjective [ Prefix a- + Latin vena a vein.] (Botany) Being without veins or nerves, as the leaves of certain plants.

Avenor Av"eˇnor noun See Avener . [ Obsolete]

Avens Av"ens noun [ Old French avence .] (Botany) A plant of the genus Geum , esp. Geum urbanum , or herb bennet.

Aventail Av"enˇtail noun [ Old French esventail . Confer Ventail .] The movable front to a helmet; the ventail.

Aventine Av"enˇtine adjective Pertaining to Mons Aventinus , one of the seven hills on which Rome stood. Bryant.

Aventine Av"enˇtine noun A post of security or defense. [ Poetic]

Into the castle's tower,
The only Aventine that now is left him.
Beau. & Fl.

Aventre Aˇven"tre transitive verb To thrust forward (at a venture), as a spear. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

Aventure Aˇven"ture noun [ See Adventure , noun ] 1. Accident; chance; adventure. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

2. (Old Law) A mischance causing a person's death without felony, as by drowning, or falling into the fire.

Aventurine Aˇven"tuˇrine noun [ French aventurine : confer Italian avventurino .] 1. A kind of glass, containing gold-colored spangles. It was produced in the first place by the accidental ( par aventure ) dropping of some brass filings into a pot of melted glass.

2. (Min.) A variety of translucent quartz, spangled throughout with scales of yellow mica.

Aventurine feldspar , a variety of oligoclase with internal firelike reflections due to the presence of minute crystals, probably of hematite; sunstone.

Avenue Av"eˇnue noun [ French avenue , from avenir to come to, Latin advenire . See Advene .] 1. A way or opening for entrance into a place; a passage by which a place may by reached; a way of approach or of exit. "The avenues leading to the city by land." Macaulay.

On every side were expanding new avenues of inquiry.
Milman.

2. The principal walk or approach to a house which is withdrawn from the road, especially, such approach bordered on each side by trees; any broad passageway thus bordered.

An avenue of tall elms and branching chestnuts.
W. Black.

3. A broad street; as, the Fifth Avenue in New York.

Aver A"ver (ā"vẽr) noun [ Old French aver domestic animal, whence Late Latin averia , plural cattle. See Habit , and confer Average .] A work horse, or working ox. [ Obsolete or Dial. Eng.]

Aver Aˇver" (ȧ*vẽr") transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Averred (ȧ*vẽrd"); present participle & verbal noun Averring .] [ French avérer , Late Latin adverare , averare ; Latin ad + versus true. See Verity .] 1. To assert, or prove, the truth of. [ Obsolete]

2. (Law) To avouch or verify; to offer to verify; to prove or justify. See Averment .

3. To affirm with confidence; to declare in a positive manner, as in confidence of asserting the truth.

It is sufficient that the very fact hath its foundation in truth, as I do seriously aver is the case.
Fielding.

Then all averred I had killed the bird.
Coleridge.

Syn. -- To assert; affirm; asseverate. See Affirm .

Average Av"erˇage noun [ Old French average , Late Latin averagium , probably from Old French aver , French avoir , property, horses, cattle, etc.; prop. infin., to have, from Latin habere to have. Confer French avérage small cattle, and avarie (perh. of different origin) damage to ship or cargo, port dues. The first meaning was perhaps 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. Confer Aver , noun , 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. [ Confer French avarie damage to ship or cargo.] (Com.) (a) A tariff or duty on goods, etc. [ Obsolete] (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. plural 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"erˇage adjective 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"erˇage transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Averaged ; present participle & verbal noun 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"erˇage intransitive verb 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.

Avercorn A"verˇcorn` noun [ Aver , noun + corn .] (Old Eng. Law) A reserved rent in corn, formerly paid to religious houses by their tenants or farmers. Kennet.

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