average

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
average/ˈavərɪʤ/

▶noun

• 1 the result obtained by adding several amounts together and then dividing the total by the number of amounts.

• 2 a usual or ordinary amount, level, or rate.

• 3 Law the apportionment of financial liability resulting from loss of or damage to a ship or its cargo.

▶adjective

• 1 constituting an average.

• 2 of the usual or ordinary amount, level, or rate.

  ■ mediocre: a very average movie.

▶verb

• 1 amount to or achieve as an average.

  ■ calculate or estimate the average of.

• 2 (average out) result in an even distribution.

– derivatives
averagely adverb,
averageness noun.

– origin C15: from Fr. avarie ‘damage to ship or cargo’, from Ital. avaria, from Arab. ‘awār; the mod. sense arose from the equitable sharing of liability for losses at sea between the owners of the vessel and of the cargo.