- average
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/av"euhr ij, av"rij/, n., adj., v., averaged, averaging.n.1. a quantity, rating, or the like that represents or approximates an arithmetic mean: Her golf average is in the 90s. My average in science has gone from B to C this semester.2. a typical amount, rate, degree, etc.; norm.3. Statistics. See arithmetic mean.4. Math. a quantity intermediate to a set of quantities.5. Com.a. a charge paid by the master of a ship for such services as pilotage or towage.b. an expense, partial loss, or damage to a ship or cargo.c. the incidence of such an expense or loss to the owners or their insurers.d. an equitable apportionment among all the interested parties of such an expense or loss. Cf. general average, particular average.6. on the or an average, usually; typically: She can read 50 pages an hour, on the average.adj.7. of or pertaining to an average; estimated by average; forming an average: The average rainfall there is 180 inches.8. typical; common; ordinary: The average secretary couldn't handle such a workload. His grades were nothing special, only average.v.t.9. to find an average value for (a variable quantity); reduce to a mean: We averaged the price of milk in five neighborhood stores.10. (of a variable quantity) to have as its arithmetic mean: Wheat averages 56 pounds to a bushel.11. to do or have on the average: He averages seven hours of sleep a night.v.i.12. to have or show an average: to average as expected.13. average down, to purchase more of a security or commodity at a lower price to reduce the average cost of one's holdings.14. average out,a. to come out of a security or commodity transaction with a profit or without a loss.b. to reach an average or other figure: His taxes should average out to about a fifth of his income.15. average up, to purchase more of a security or commodity at a higher price to take advantage of a contemplated further rise in prices.[1485-95; earlier averay charge on goods shipped, orig. duty ( < MF avarie < OIt avaria < Ar 'awariyah damaged merchandise), with -AGE r. -ay]
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in maritime law, loss or damage, less than total, to maritime (maritime law) property (a ship or its cargo), caused by the perils of the sea. An average may be particular or general. A particular average is one that is borne by the owner of the lost or damaged property (unless he was insured against the risk). A general average is one that is borne in common by the owners of all the property engaged in the venture.The basic idea of general average (the more important form) pertains to property that is voluntarily sacrificed to preserve the remainder of the property from destruction (as by throwing cargo overboard or cutting away masts to preserve the ship in a storm); the owners of the property saved must contribute to the owners of the property sacrificed in such an amount that all will have contributed proportionately to the aggregate value of the lost property.Such a custom of contribution was firmly established in Roman law by the 6th century AD. What is now called the law of general average thus has an ancient lineage, and the doctrine has been admitted by all seafaring nations as part of their maritime laws. Repeated attempts to draft international conventions in the field of general average, however, have met with failure.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
