# average

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈæv.(ə.)ɹɪd͡ʒ/ · frequency rank #704

## Definitions
1. Any measure of central tendency, especially any mean, the median, or the mode.
2. Any measure of central tendency, especially any mean, the median, or the mode.
3. Financial loss due to damage to transported goods; compensation for damage or loss.
4. Financial loss due to damage to transported goods; compensation for damage or loss.
5. Financial loss due to damage to transported goods; compensation for damage or loss.
6. An indication of a player's ability calculated from his scoring record, etc.

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Arabic عَوَار (ʕawār)
Arabic ـِيّ (-iyy)
Proto-Afroasiatic *-t
Proto-Semitic *-at-
Arabic ـَة (-a)
Arabic ـِيَّة (-iyya)
Arabic عَوَارِيَّة (ʕawāriyya)?
Proto-Indo-European *gʰeh₁bʰ-
Proto-Italic *haβēō
Latin habeō
Old Italian avere?
Old Italian avariabor.
Old French avarie
Middle French avarie
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-tós
Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos
Proto-Italic *-ātos
Latin -ātus
Proto-Indo-European *-kos
Proto-Italic *-kos
Latin -cus
Latin -icus
Latin -āticus
Latin -āticum
Old French -agebor.
Middle English -age
English -age
English average
Not entirely certain. The oldest meaning in English is “customs duty”. Borrowed from Middle French avarie (“damage to ship or cargo”), from Old French avarie, from Old Italian avaria where it is first attested in the 12th century in the context of Mediterranean trade. From there most sources trace it to Arabic عَوَارِيَّة (ʕawāriyya, “damaged goods”), from عَوَار (ʕawār, “fault, blemish, defect, flaw”), from عَوِرَ (ʕawira, “to lose an eye”), but the OED gives it a Romance derivation from Italian avere (“property, goods”) or the like.
The English suffix -age was added in analogy to words like damage.

## Easily confused with
- **averse** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/average-vs-averse)
- **avenge** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/avenge-vs-average)

## Common misspellings (9)
`aevrage`, `avearge`, `averaeg`, `averagge`, `avergae`, `averrage`, `avreage`, `avverage`, `vaerage`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/average