aver
See also: avêr, avër, and a ver
English
WOTD – 30 April 2021
Etymology 1
From Middle English averren (“to corroborate (a statement); to cite (something) as corroboration or proof; (law) to prove (something) in court; to declare (something) under oath as true; to prove (a case) by a jury’s oaths”) [and other forms],[1] from Old French averer (modern French avérer (“to reveal, uncover; to prove (to be), transpire”)), from Late Latin *advērāre (“to make true; to prove to be true; to verify”), the present active infinitive of Late Latin *advērō (“to make true; to prove to be true”), from Latin ad- (prefix forming factitive verbs meaning ‘to make (something) have the properties of [the adjective or noun to which it is attached]’) + vērus (“actual, real, true; genuine; proper, suitable; just, right”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weh₁- (“true”)) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs).[2]
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /əˈvɜː/
Audio (Southern England) (file) - (General American) IPA(key): /əˈvɝ/
- Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)
Verb
aver (third-person singular simple present avers, present participle averring or (obsolete) avering, simple past and past participle averred or (obsolete) avered)
- (transitive, intransitive) To assert the truth of (something); to affirm (something) with confidence; to declare (something) in a positive manner.
- 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “Causes of Heroicall Loue, Temperature, Full Diet, Idlenesse, Place, Climat, &c.”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed by John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, OCLC 54573970, partition 3, section 2, member 2, subsection 1, page 209:
- A rare thing to ſee a yong man or woman, that liues idlely, and fares well, of what condition ſoeuer, not to bee in loue. Vbicumqꝫ ſecuritas, ibi libido dominatur, luſt & ſecurity domineere together, as St Hierome auerreth.
- 1660, Samuel Fisher, “[Rusticus ad Academicos in Exercitationibus Expostulatoriis, Apologeticis Quatuor. The Rustick’s Alarm to the Rabbies: Or, The Country Correcting the University and Clergy, and (Not without Good Cause) Contesting for the Truth, against the Nursing Mothers and Their Children. In Four Apologetical and Expostulatory Exercitations; [...]] The Third Apologetical, and Expostulatory Exercitation”, in The Testimony of Truth Exalted, […], [London?: s.n.], published 1679, OCLC 8951836, chapter I, page 411:
- Now as to the Scriptures being the Word of God, and evidently known to be ſo, or evidencing themſelves to be ſo, and that of right, and properly they are to be ſo called; all which thou J. O. very abſolutely averreſt, […]
- 1662, [Samuel Butler], “[The First Part of Hudibras]”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678, OCLC 890163163; republished in A[lfred] R[ayney] Waller, editor, Hudibras: Written in the Time of the Late Wars, Cambridge: University Press, 1905, OCLC 963614346, canto II, page 31:
- Chiron, the four-legg'd Bard, had both / A Beard and Tail of his own growth; / And yet by Authors 'tis averr'd, / He made use onely of his Beard.
- 1701, Lawrence Smith, “[First Discourse on 2 Timothy 1:10]”, in The Evidence of Things Not Seen: Or, The Immortality of the Human Soul, and the Separate Condition thereof in the Other World, Asserted and Made Manifest: […], London: […] Thomas Speed, […], OCLC 836797111, page 1:
- [T]he partial Infidel […] averreth the Sleep or Inſenſibility of the Soul both in good and bad perſons, from the time of their Deceaſe hence until their Reſurrection; […]
- 1819, Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Peter Bell the Third”, in [Mary] Shelley, editor, The Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley. […], new edition, London: Edward Moxon […], published 1840, OCLC 1152757693, part the second (The Devil), stanza 1, page 239:
- The Devil, I safely can aver, / Has neither hoof, nor tail, nor sting; / Nor is he, as some sages swear, / A spirit, neither here nor there, / In nothing—yet in everything.
- 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “Cetology”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, OCLC 57395299, page 156:
- An Irish author avers that the Earl of Leicester, on bended knees, did likewise present to her highness another horn, pertaining to a land beast of the unicorn nature.
- 1939 August 25, Yip Harburg (lyrics), Harold Arlen (music), “Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead”, in The Wizard of Oz (soundtrack), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer:
- As Coroner, I must aver, I thoroughly examined her. / And she's not only merely dead, she's really most sincerely dead.
- 1997, Frederick W. Case, Jr.; Roberta B. Case, “The North American Trilliums”, in Trilliums, Portland, Or.: Timber Press, →ISBN, page 109:
- Horticulturalist Richard Lighty has a form [of Trillium grandiflorum] that he avers to open almost a cerise-red.
- 2007 July 26, European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), Peev v. Bulgaria (Application no. 64209/01), Strasbourg, paragraph 19:
- In the meantime, on 5 June 2000, the applicant had brought a civil action against the Prosecutor's Office. He alleged that the termination of his contract had been unlawful and sought reinstatement and compensation for loss of salary. He averred, inter alia, that the climate in the Supreme Cassation Prosecutor's Office had deteriorated as a result of the actions of the Chief Prosecutor.
- 2019 April 14, Alex McLevy, “Winter is Here on Game of Thrones’ Final Season Premiere (Newbies)”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 18 December 2020:
- [W]hen Yara tells him he picked the losing side, he avers that he might just as soon head back to the Iron Islands—"But first, I'm gonna fuck the queen" [...]
-
- (transitive, intransitive, law) To justify or prove (an allegation or plea that one has made).
- (transitive, obsolete) To avouch, prove, or verify the existence or happening of (something), or to offer to do so.
- 1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act V, scene v], page 396, column 2:
- […] I return'd with ſimular proofe enough, / To make the Noble Leonatus mad, / By wounding his beleefe in her Renowne, / With tokens thus, and thus: auerring notes / Of Chamber-hanging, Pictures, this her Bracelet / (Oh cunning how I got) nay ſome markes / Of ſecret on her perſon, that he could not / But thinke her bond of Chaſtity quite crack'd, / I hauing tane the forfeyt.
- 1641 May, John Milton, Of Reformation Touching Church-Discipline in England: And the Cavvses that hitherto have Hindred it; republished as Will Taliaferro Hale, editor, Of Reformation Touching Church-Discipline in England (Yale Studies in English; LIV), New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1916, OCLC 260112239, 2nd book:
- Upon a time the Body summon'd all the Members to meet in the Guild for the common good (as Aesops Chronicles averre many stranger Accidents) the head by right takes the first seat, and next to it a huge and monstrous Wen little lesse than the Head it selfe, growing to it by a narrower excrescency.
- 1841 December, R[ichard] R[obert] Madden, “Address on Slavery in Cuba, Presented to the General Anti-slavery Convention”, in The Churchman’s Monthly Review, London: R. B. Seeley and W. Burnside; and sold by L. and G. Seeley, […], OCLC 863447718, page 705:
- [A]lthough thou averrest this, and averrest it truly, we are nevertheless constrained to plead guilty to the possession of so much of this sensibility [a refusal to hear details] (call it "sickly" if thou wilt) as that they case once proved, our feeling of duty refuses to sustain us any longer against that combined and overwhelming influence of shattered nerves and a sickened heart.
-
Conjugation
Conjugation of aver
| infinitive | (to) aver | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| present tense | past tense | ||
| 1st-person singular | aver | averred | |
| 2nd-person singular | aver, averrest† | averred, averredst† | |
| 3rd-person singular | avers, averreth† | averred | |
| plural | aver | ||
| subjunctive | aver | averred | |
| imperative | aver | — | |
| participles | averring | averred | |
†Archaic or obsolete.
Synonyms
- (assert the truth): swear
Derived terms
- averrable
- averred (adjective)
- averrer
Related terms
- averment
Translations
to assert the truth of (something); to affirm (something) with confidence; to declare (something) in a positive manner
|
to prove or justify (an allegation or plea that one has made)
|
Etymology 2
From Middle English aver, avere (“workhorse; any beast of burden (?); things which are owned, possessions, property, wealth; state of being rich, wealth; ownership, possession”) [and other forms],[3][4] and then either:
- from Old French aver, aveir, avoir (“possession, property; (collectively) beasts of burden; domestic animals; cattle”) (modern French avoir (“asset, possession”)), from aveir, avoir (“to have”), from Latin habēre,[5] the present active infinitive of habeō (“to have, hold; to have, own (possessions)”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰeh₁bʰ-, *ǵʰeh₁bʰ- (“to grab, take”); or
- from Old English eafor (“workhorse; tenant’s obligation to transport goods”), further etymology uncertain.[3]
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈeɪvə/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈeɪvɚ/
- Homophone: Ava
Noun
aver (plural avers)
- (Britain, dialectal, archaic) A beast of burden; chiefly a workhorse, but also a working ox or other animal.
- (Northern England, Scotland, dialectal, archaic) An old, useless horse; a nag.
- 1820 March, [Walter Scott], chapter VIII, in The Monastery. A Romance. […], volume III, Edinburgh: […] Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and for Archibald Constable and Co., and John Ballantyne, […], OCLC 892089409, page 214:
- […] Gilbert has but two half-starved cowardly peasants to follow him, and but an auld jaded aver to ride upon, fitter for the plough than for manly service; […]
-
References
- “averren, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
- Compare “aver, v.”, in OED Online
, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2021; “aver, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022. - “āver, n.(1)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
- “avēr, n.(2)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
- “aver, n.”, in OED Online , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2021.
Anagrams
- AVRE, Rave, Vera, evar, rave, vare, vera
Italian
Alternative forms
- haver (obsolete spelling)
Verb
aver (apocopated)
- Apocopic form of avere
Anagrams
- vera
Ladino
Etymology
From Old Spanish aver, from Latin habēre, present active infinitive of habeō (“hold, have”).
Verb
aver (Latin spelling, Hebrew spelling אביר)
- to have
Middle English
Etymology
From Old French aver, aveir, avoir (“possession, property; (collectively) beasts of burden; domestic animals; cattle”) (modern French avoir (“asset, possession”)), from aveir, avoir (“to have”), from Latin habēre,[1] the present active infinitive of habeō (“to have, hold; to have, own (possessions)”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰeh₁bʰ-, *ǵʰeh₁bʰ- (“to grab, take”).
Noun
aver (plural avers)
- Belongings, possessions, property, wealth.
References
- “avēr, n.(2)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Norman
Alternative forms
- aveir (Guernsey)
Etymology
From Old French aveir, from Latin habēre, present active infinitive of habeō (“have, hold, possess”).
Verb
aver
- (Jersey, alternative form in Guernsey) to have
Conjugation
Jersey Norman - Conjugation| infinitive | aver | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| gerund | ayant | ||||||
| auxiliary | aver | ||||||
| past participle | masculine | feminine | |||||
| singular | ieu | — | |||||
| plural | — | — | |||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| 1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person | 1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person | ||
| indicative | jé (j') | tu (tu') | il (i'), oulle (ou) | jé (j') | ous (ou) | il' (i') | |
| present | ai | as | a | avons | avez | ont | |
| imperfect | avais | avais | avait | avions | aviez | avaient | |
| preterite | eus | eus | eut | eûnmes | eûtes | eûtent | |
| future | éthai | éthas | étha | éthons | éthez | éthont | |
| conditional | éthais | éthais | éthait | éthions | éthiez | éthaient | |
| subjunctive | qué j' | qué tu' | qu'il, qu'oulle | qué j' | qu'ous | qu'il' | |
| present | aie | aies | ait | ayons | ayiz | aient | |
| imperfect | eûsse | eûsses | eûsse | eûssions | eûssyiz or eûssiez | eûssent | |
| imperative | — | tu' | — | j' | ous | — | |
| affirmative | ai | ayons | ayiz or ayez | ||||
Derived terms
- aver bouonne main (“to have green fingers”)
- aver cours (“to be legal tender”)
- aver d's ièrs dé caûque-souothis (“to have good eyesight”)
- aver l's ièrs pus grands qué l'ventre (“to have eyes bigger than one's belly”)
- aver l'tchoeu d'vômi (“to feel sick”)
- aver l'vent souôs vèrgue (“to scud before the wind”)
- aver un yi tchi dit m'luque à l'aut' (“to have a squint”)
Occitan
Etymology
From Old Occitan aver, haver, from Latin habēre, present active infinitive of habeō (“to have, hold, keep”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /aˈbe/
Audio (file)
Verb
aver
- to have; to possess
- Synonym: possedir
- (auxiliary) to have
Conjugation
Lengadocian (Central Occitan)| simple | compound | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| infinitive | aver | aver agut | |||||
| gerund | avent | use gerund of aver + past participle | |||||
| past participle | agut | — | |||||
| person | singular | plural | |||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | ieu | tu | el | nosautres | vosautres | eles | |
| present | ai | as | a | avèm | avètz | an | |
| imperfect | aviái | aviás | aviá | aviam | aviatz | avián | |
| preterite | aguèri | aguères | aguèt | aguèrem | aguèretz | aguèron | |
| future | aurai | auràs | aurà | aurem | auretz | auràn | |
| conditional | auriái | auriás | auriá | auriam | auriatz | aurián | |
| conditional 2nd form1 | aguèra | aguèras | aguèra | agueram | agueratz | aguèran | |
| compound tenses | present perfect | use the present tense of aver + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | use the imperfect tense of aver + past participle | ||||||
| past anterior | use the preterite tense of aver + past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | use the future tense of aver + past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | use the conditional tense of aver + past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que ieu | que tu | que el | que nosautres | que vosautres | que eles | |
| present | aja | ajas | aja | ajam | ajatz | ajan | |
| imperfect | aguèsse | aguèsses | aguèsse | aguèssem | aguèssetz | aguèsson | |
| compound tenses | past | use the present subjunctive of aver + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | use the imperfect subjunctive of aver + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | — | tu | — | nosautres | vosautres | — | |
| aja | ajam | ajatz | 1Now chiefly obsolete, still in use in some Limousin and Vivaro-Alpin dialects | ||||
Derived terms
- aver luòc
Old French
Verb
aver
- Alternative form of avoir
Noun
aver m (oblique plural avers, nominative singular avers, nominative plural aver)
- Alternative form of avoir
- c. 1150, Thomas d'Angleterre, Le Roman de Tristan, page 216 (of the Champion Classiques edition, →ISBN, line 2832:
- de ses avers li volt mustrer.
- he wants to show his possessions to her.
-
Old Occitan
Alternative forms
- haver
Etymology
From Latin habēre, present active infinitive of habeō (“to have, hold, keep”).
Verb
aver
- to have; to possess
- circa 1185, Guerau de Cabrera, Ensenhamen:
- Jes gran saber
no potz aver,
si fors non eis de ta reion.- (please add an English translation of this quote)
-
Descendants
- Occitan: aver
Old Portuguese
Alternative forms
- haver (latinized form)
Etymology
From Latin habēre, present active infinitive of habeō (“to have, to hold, to possess”), probably from a Proto-Italic *habēō or *haβēō, possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰh₁bʰ- (“to grab, to take”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /aˈβeɾ/
Verb
aver
- to have
- Pedro a dous pees.
- Pedro has two feet.
- to exist
Conjugation
Conjugation of (h)aver (irregular)
Note: The etymological h as in "haver" can be dropped, thus resulting in "aver". The same goes for all of its other verbal inflections as "havendo" → "avendo". | |||||||
| infinitive | (h)aver | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| gerund | (h)avendo | ||||||
| past participle | singular | plural | |||||
| masculine | (h)avudo (h)avido | (h)avudos (h)avidos | |||||
| feminine | (h)avuda (h)avida | (h)avudas (h)avidas | |||||
| person | singular | plural | |||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | eu | tu | el~ele ela vossa mercee | nós nós outros nós outras | vós vós outros vós outras | eles elas | |
| present | (h)ei | (h)ás | (h)á (h)ai | (h)avemos | (h)avedes | (h)an | |
| imperfect | (h)avia | (h)avias | (h)avia | (h)aviamos | (h)aviades | (h)avian | |
| preterite | (h)ouvi (h)ouve (h)oui (h)ove | (h)ouviste (h)ouvisti (h)ouveste | (h)ouve (h)ouvo *(h)ove | (h)ouvemos | (h)ouvestes | (h)ouveron | |
| pluperfect | (h)ouvera | (h)ouveras | (h)ouvera (h)oera | (h)ouveramos | (h)ouverades | (h)ouveran | |
| future | (h)averei | (h)averás | (h)averá | (h)averemos | (h)averedes | (h)averán | |
| conditional | (h)averia | (h)averias | (h)averia | (h)averiamos | (h)averiades | (h)averian | |
| subjunctive | eu | tu | el~ele ela vossa mercee | nós nós outros nós outras | vós vós outros vós outras | eles elas | |
| present | (h)aja | (h)ajas | (h)aja | (h)ajamos | (h)ajades | (h)ajan | |
| preterite | (h)ouvesse | (h)ouvesses | (h)ouvesse | (h)ouvéssemos | (h)ouvéssedes | (h)ouvessen | |
| future | (h)ouver (h)oer | (h)ouveres | (h)ouver (h)oer (h)over (h)overe | (h)ouvermos (h)overmos | (h)ouverdes | (h)ouveren (h)overen | |
| imperative | — | tu | vossa mercee | nós nós outros nós outras | vós vós outros vós outras | — | |
| affirmative | — | (h)ave | *(h)aja | (h)ajamos | (h)avede | — | |
| negative | — | *(h)ajas | *(h)aja | (h)ajamos | (h)ajades | — | |
| personal infinitive | eu | tu | el~ele ela vossa mercee | nós nós outros nós outras | vós vós outros vós outras | eles elas | |
| (h)aver | (h)averes | (h)aver | (h)avermos | (h)averdes | (h)averen | ||
Descendants
- Galician: haber
- Portuguese: haver
Old Spanish
Etymology
From Latin habēre, present active infinitive of habeō (“to have, hold, keep”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /aˈβeɾ/
Verb
aver
- to have
- Pedro ha dos fijas.
- Pedro has two daughters.
Descendants
- Ladino:
- Hebrew: אביר
- Latin: aver
- Spanish: haber
Portuguese
Verb
aver (first-person singular present indicative ei, past participle avido)
- Obsolete spelling of haver
Conjugation
This verb needs an inflection-table template.
Noun
aver m (plural averes)
- Obsolete spelling of haver
Romani
Alternative forms
- kaver, vaver
Etymology
Inherited from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀅𑀯𑀭 (avara), from Sanskrit अपर (apara).
Adjective
aver
- other
References
- Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985), “ápara”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press, page 20
- Boretzky, Norbert; Igla, Birgit (1994), “avér”, in Wörterbuch Romani-Deutsch-Englisch für den südosteuropäischen Raum : mit einer Grammatik der Dialektvarianten [Romani-German-English dictionary for the Southern European region] (in German), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, →ISBN, page 14
- Marcel Courthiade (2009), “aver B-ćham: -e”, in Melinda Rézműves, editor, Morri angluni rromane ćhibǎqi evroputni lavustik = Első rromani nyelvű európai szótáram : cigány, magyar, angol, francia, spanyol, német, ukrán, román, horvát, szlovák, görög [My First European-Romani Dictionary: Romani, Hungarian, English, French, Spanish, German, Ukrainian, Romanian, Croatian, Slovak, Greek] (in Hungarian; English), Budapest: Fővárosi Onkormányzat Cigány Ház--Romano Kher, →ISBN, page 68
Spanish
Verb
aver
- Obsolete spelling of haber
Venetian
Alternative forms
- gaver
Etymology
From Latin habēre, present active infinitive of habeō.
Verb
aver
- (transitive) to have
- (transitive) to possess
Conjugation
- Venetian conjugation varies from one region to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.
Conjugation of aver (irregular)
| infinitive | aver | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| auxiliary verb | aver | gerund | avéndo | |||
| past participle | vùo, avudo, vudo, vù | |||||
| person | singular | plural | ||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | |
| indicative | mi | ti | eło / eła | noialtri / noialtre | voialtri / voialtre | łuri / łore |
| present | go, ò | (te) ghè, (te) ga | (el/ła) ga, (el/ła) à | avémo, gavémo, òn, avòn | avì | (i/łe) ga, (i/łe) à |
| imperfect | avéa, gavéa | (te) avivi, (te) avevi | (el/ła) avéa, (el/ła) gavéa | avévimo | avivi, avevi | (i/łe) avéa, (i/łe) gavéa |
| future | avarò | (te) avarè | (el/ła) avarà | avarémo, avaròn | avarè | (i/łe) avarà |
| conditional | mi | ti | eło / eła | noialtri / noialtre | voialtri / voialtre | łuri / łore |
| present | avarìa, averàve, gavaria | (te) avarisi | (el/ła) avarìa, (el/ła) averàve, (el/ła) gavaria | avarìsimo | avarisi | (i/łe) avarìa, (i/łe) averàve, (i/łe) gavaria |
| subjunctive | che mi | che ti | che eło / eła | che noialtri / noialtre | che voialtri / voialtre | che łuri / łore |
| present | abia | (te) abi | (el/ła) abia | avémo | avì | (i/łe) abia |
| imperfect | avése | (te) avisi | (el/ła) avése | avésimo | avisi | (i/łe) avése |
| imperative | — | ti | eło / eła | noialtri / noialtre | voialtri / voialtre | łuri / łore |
| — | (te) abi | (el/ła) abia | avémo | avì | (i/łe) abia | |
References
- Silvano Belloni (2009) Grammatica Veneta [Venetian Grammar] (in Italian), Esedra Editrice, →ISBN, page 75