avoid 
this grant cannot be avoided without injustice 
to the grantee. 2f. To empty. 
Avoi/d thou till trenchrre. ''""*. p. '-'>- 
3f. To eject ; throw out ; drive out. 
And yf he at 1 "//'/' 1 linn | swine ^oini: at law] not, or put 
bem in warde, an' warning m*d*, . . . b mute 10 la de- 
fault to paye the pcyne ivherccd. 
Sngli A (Hbb(& i:. T. s.), p. 39s. 
A toad contains ii"I those urinary parts . . . t 
that serous excretion. NiV T. liruinii; Vulg. Err. 
4f. To quit; evacuate; depart from. 
Anil then tin 1 both maiivs to eliamme their plari-s. then 
Vi<:,ii;.-.ii i;i/, la (\:. r:. T. s.>, P. 4i,s. 
Skat., 11.11. viu., v. :. 
to <t!'ni>! I hr h;llle. 
.In,;,/ Ihe jjallcry. 
That prince shonld command him to nr,,i,l ih,- rnnntry. 
Bacon. 
5. To shun; krcp away from; eschew: as, to 
iii-iiiil expense', danger, or bail company. 
Tin' be-,1 way in urniil itroversies about words is to 
Msr unhls ill their proper sell.-es. 
Macnuliif/, Sa-ller's Ref. Refuted. 
6f. To get rid of; get out or clear of. 
I will n Ion;.;. T en. lure it, though yet I know no wine 
remedy how to umid it. Shak., As you Like it, i. 1. 
= Syn. 5. To escape, elnde, evade, keep clear of. 
Il.t intrniix. 1. To become void, vacant, or 
empty. 
Bishopricks are not included under heucllei -s: so Unit ii 
a person takes a liishoprick, it does not at-oiii l>> imv,- nl 
that law of pluralities, lint by the ancient common law, 
Ayliffe, Piirer^on. 
2. To retire ; withdraw. 
David avoided out of his presence. 1 Sam. xviii. 11. 
A void, my soul's vexation ! Satan, hence ! 
B. Jonson, Case is Altered, iv. 4. 
Let him avoid, then, 
And leave our walk. 
Fletcher an,/ A'..V. ,./. Maid in the Mill, i. 1. 
avoidable (a-voi'da-bl), a. [< aroid + -able.] 
1. Liable to be annulled or to become void; 
voidable. [Rare. ] 2. Capable of being avoid- 
ed, shunned, escaped, or prevented. 
avoidably (a-voi'da-bli), ailr. In au avoidable 
manner. 
avoidance (a-voi'dans), n. [< ME. uriiiiliiinii-i: 
ni-iiidtiiix; < 'iirtiid + -ance.'] 1. The act of an- 
nulling or making void ; annulment. 
The obsequious clergy of France . . . pronounced at 
once the avoidance of the marriage. 
Hitman, Latin Christianity, ix. 4. 
2. The act of becoming, or the state of being, 
vacant; especially, the state of a benefice when 
it becomes void by death, deprivation, resigna- 
tion, or preferment of the incumbent ; vacancy. 
Wolsey, ... on every avoidance of St. Peter's chair, 
was sitting down thereon, when suddenly some one or 
other clapped in before him. Fuller. 
3. The act of avoiding or shunning anything 
disagreeable or unwelcome. 4f. A retiring 
from or leaving a place. 5f. An emptying 
out; that by which a fluid is carried off; an 
outlet. 
Avoidances and drainings of water. Bacon. 
Confession and avoidance. See confession. Plea In 
avoidance, in laic, a plea which, without denying the 
plaintiff's allegation, sets up some new fact evading its 
effect, as where the plaint in alleges a debt and the de- 
fendant pleads a release in avoidance. 
avoider (a-voi'der), n. 1. One who avoids, 
shuns, or escapes. 
Good sir, steal away : you were wont to be a curious 
avoider of women's company. 
Beau, and Ft., Honest Man's Fortune, iv. 1. 
2f. That which empties. 
avoidless (a-void'les), n. [< avoid + -less.] 
That cannot be avoided; inevitable: as,"acoi'rf- 
lesx ruin," Dennis, Letters. [Rare.] 
avoir. An abbreviation of avoirdupois. 
avoirdupois (av"or-du-poiz'), n. [Prop, aver- 
depois. early mod. E\ averdepois, averdttpois, 
haverdupois, -poise, < ME. aver de poiz, avoir de 
pote, aver de peis (later also -paise, -pase), < OF. 
aver de pes, aveir de peis ^equiv. to ML. averia 
ponderis), lit. goods of weight : aver, goods (see 
aver 2 ); de. < L. de, of; pes, peis, later pois (mod. 
P. poids, by mistaken reference to L. pondus, 
weight) = Pr. pes, pens = It. peso, < L. pen- 
sum, weight, < pendere, weigh: see poise, pen- 
(liiiit,~\ 1. A system of weight in which one 
pound contains 16 ounces. It was introduced into 
r.n-land from Itayonne about A. D. 1300, and is substantial- 
1> the Spanish system. In avoirdupois weight 7,000 troy 
aa (formerly, and now in the I'nited States, approxi- 
mately, hut in Great Britain exactly) make a pound, while 
In troy weight the pound contains 5,760 grains, the grain 
being the same in both cases ; hence, 175 pounds troy are 
ei|ii;tl to 144 pounds avoirdupois. The pound avoirdupois 
is the standard weight of lireat Britain, and is equal to 
453.0 grains in the French metric system. Avoirdupois 
weight is used in determining the weights of all commodi- 
397 
ties except gems and tli-' prri ions metals. It is reckoned 
an follows : 
Cwt. Qrs. Pounds. Ounce*. Drams. 
1 ton = 20 - 80 = 2240 = :i5840 = 
1 hundredweight = 4 = !]_> = 1792 = 2S72 
1 quarter = 2s = 448 = Rl 
I pound = 18 = 2M 
1 OHIiee *= 16 
III the Tinted States the liun.lieilwei^ht is now commonly 
100 pounds, and the ton 2,000 i>ounds, called the xl"<>r in,. 
in distinction from the inn^i tun of 2, 240 |iiin<l>. 
2. The weight of anything according to the 
avoirdupois system : as, his nroiriliiiinis \\;is l.'.n 
pounds. [Colloq.] 
Also written nn riln/mi.-: ami often abbrevi- 
ated to ttroir. and anl/>. 
avoket (a-vok'), r. t. [< L. avocare, call away: 
see ai-ocate. <T. convoke, evoke, inml.-i; i>roml;i; 
i-i-mke.] To call away or back. /.'/). lim ml. 
avolatet (av'o-lat), v. i. [< L. n ruin I n^, pp. of 
iii-iilitrr. fly away, < for6, away, + mlnn , fly: 
seei'oM<.] To fly off; escape; exhale, lioylc. 
avolationt (av-o-la'shon), . K L. as if 'avola- 
tiii(n-), < avolar'e: gee at'otete.] The act of fly- 
ing away; flight; escape; exhalation; evapora- 
tion. 
Tlir ui'i,tati\,n of the fuvfllous particles. 
>'./ '/'. BrmvM, Vulg. Err., v. 22. 
ayoli (ii-vo'le), n. [It.] In glass-blowing, espe- 
cially in Venetian work, the small circular piece 
which covers the junction of the bowl and the 
stem in a drinking-glass. 
avoncet, ('. Variant of avance 1 , obsolete form 
of uilriiiii-i . 
avoset, avocet (av'6-set), . [Also as NL. 
avocetta, avosctta; < P. arocette = It. avocetta = 
Sp. avoceta; origin uncertain.] 1. A bird of 
the genus Recurvirostra, family Kecurvirostridn; 
and order Limicola;, characterized by extreme 
European Avoset (.Recun-irostra avocetta}. 
slenderness and upward curvature of the bill, 
and by very long legs and webbed toes, in the 
latter characteristic it ditf ers from most wading birds. Its 
length is from 15 to 18 inches from the tip of the bill to 
the end of the tail, and its coloration is chiefly black and 
white, the legs being blue. Several species are described. 
The avoset of Europe is R. amcetta; that of the United 
States is R. americana, distinguished by the chestnut- 
brown coloration of the head. The former is sometimes 
called the gcooper or acoopinfj avoset. 
2. A humming-bird of the genus Avocetta. 
avouch (a-vouch'), v. [< ME. avouclien (rare), 
< AF. advoucher, OF. avochier, avoclicr, a part- 
ly restored form, after the L., of avoer, avouer, 
affirm, declare, avow, orig. call upon to defend, 
< L. advocare: see advocate, avow^, and vouch,] 
1. trans. 1. To affirm or acknowledge openly ; 
declare or assert with positiveness ; proclaim. 
Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God : 
. . . And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his 
peculiar people. Deut. xxvi. 17, 18. 
Neither indeed would I have thought that any such an- 
tiquities could have been avouched for the Irish. 
Spenser, State of Ireland. 
If this which he avouches does appear. 
Shak., Macbeth, v. 5. 
I speak what history avouches, that the mechanics, as a 
class, were prime agents in all the measures of the revolu- 
tion. Everett, Orations, 1. 363. 
2. To admit, confess, or avow. 
The first time that I have heard one with a beard on his 
lip avouch himself a coward, Scott, Betrothed, iii. 
Milton in his prose works frequently avouches the pecu- 
liar affection to the Italian literature and language which 
he bore. 
Trench, Eng. Past and Present, iii. 119. (A T . E. D.) 
3. To maintain, vindicate, or justify; make 
good; answer for; establish; guarantee; sub- 
stantiate. 
avowal 
What I have said 
I will avouch, in presence of the king. 
:., Rich. III., i. 3. 
Ue miuht be .li-|H,scd to qucslli.il its authenticity If it 
wet. n-'t -" ".'.//-/ (p\ the full evidi nee iii its favour. 
ililinan. Latin Christianity, iv. 7 
4t. To appeal to, or cite as proof or warrant : 
as. to nriiin-li tlie authorities on any subject. 
II. in trans. To give assurance or guaranty ; 
vouch: as, "I i-an iinnifh for her reputation," 
Itcfiic, Mrs. Veal. 
avoucht (a-vouch'), ti. [<roc/i. r.] Evidence; 
testimony; assurance. 
\\ ithont the sensible aii'l true at'ouch 
of mine own eyes. >7it., Hamlet, I. 1. 
avouchable (a-vou'eha-bl), a. [< aroueh + 
-iilit<:] Capable of being avouched. 
avoucher (a-vou'cher), n. One who avouches. 
avouchment (a-vouch ment) ; n. [< avourli + 
-an nl.] Tin' act of avouching; declaration; 
avowal ; acknowledgment. 
By laying the foundation of hi dei'mee on the nn,nrl, 
mi a' of that which is so manifestly untrue, he hath given 
awome foil to his own cause than when his uh], facow 
were iit any time overthrown. Hilton, Klkonoklastes, i. 
avou6 (a-vo-a'), [F-> < OF. atone (pp. of 
iinnii'i', nroer), < li.ttthoettUlt, advocate, patron: 
see oroicec, advowee, and advocate.'] In France, 
originally, a protector of a church or religioux 
community; now, a ministerial officer wlmsr 
duty it is to represent parties before the tribu- 
nals and to draw up acts of procedure. 
avouret, . See avower?. 
avoutert, avouterert, etc. See advouter, etc. 
avow 1 (a-vou'), v. [Early mod. E. also advow, 
afterthe L.; < ME. avowen, avouen,(.OF. avouer, 
m-iii-r = Pr. avoar, < L. advocare, call to, call 
upon, hence to call as a witness, defender, 
patron, or advocate, own as such: see aroueh 
(from later OF.) and advoke and advocate (di- 
rectly from L.), doublets of avow 1 . This verb, 
in E. and F., was partly confused with the now 
obsolete avow 2 ; cf. the similar confusion of al- 
low 1 and allow 2 .'] I. trans. If. To own or ac- 
knowledge obligation or relation to, as a per- 
son: as, he avowed him for his son. 2t. To 
sanction; approve. 3. To declare openly, of- 
ten with a view to justify, maintain, or defend : 
as, to avow one's principles. 
If there be one amongst the falr'st of Greece . . . 
That loves his mistress more than in confession, . . . 
And dare avow her Iteauty and her worth 
In other arms than hers to him this challenge. 
Shah., T. andC., I. 3. 
"Water, verdure, and a beautiful face," says an old 
Arab proverb, " are three things which delight the heart," 
and the .Syrians avow that all three are to be found in 
Damascus. Ii Taylor, Lands of the Saracen, p. 126. 
4. Specifically, in laic, to acknowledge and 
justify, as when the distrainer of goods de- 
fends in an action of replevin, and avows the 
taking, but insists that such taking was legal. 
See avowry, 1. 5. To admit or confess open- 
ly or frankly; acknowledge; own: as, to avow 
one's self a convert. 
Left to myself, I must avoir, I strove 
From public shame to screen my secret love. Dryden. 
= Syn. 3. To affirm, assert, profess. 5. Admit, Confess, 
etc. See acknowledge. 
II. intrans. In lair, to justify or maintain an 
act done, specifically a distress for rent taken 
in one's own right. N. E. D. 
avowH (a-vou' ), w. [< avow 1 , v."] An avowal; 
a bold declaration. Dryden. 
avow 2 ^ (a-vou'), v. [Early mod. E., also advow 
(after the L.); < ME. avowen, avouen, < OF. 
arouer, avoer, later advouer, < ML. as if *advo- 
tare, < L. ad, to, + ML. votare, vow, > Pr. vodar 
= OF. voer, vouer, > E. vow, q. v. This verb was 
partly confused with avow 1 , q. v.] I. trans. 1. 
To bind with a vow. 2. To devote or dedicate 
by a vow; vow. 3. To vow to do or keep; 
promise; undertake. 
II. intrans. To bind one's self by a vow; 
make a vow ; vow. 
avow 2 t (a-vou'), n. [ME. avows, avou; from 
the verb.] Avow; a promise. 
I make acottx to my God here. 
Chaucer, Death of Blanche, L 93. 
I will make mine avow to do her as ill a turn. 
Marriage of Sir Gawaync. 
avowable (a-vou'a-bl), n. [< avowl + -able.'] 
Capable of being avowed or openly acknow- 
ledged with confidence. 
avowably (a-vou'a-bli), adi: In an avowable 
manner. Imp. Diet. 
avowal (a-vou'al), n. [< avow 1 + -a?.] An 
open declaration ; a frank acknowledgment. 
His . . . avoimlol such . . . principles. 
llmnr, Hist. Eng., an. 1628. 
