Obs. exc. dial. Forms: α. 4 aueyr, auere, haver, 4–5 auer, 5 aveer, hawere. Pl. 5 auers, averys. β. 5 auoyre, havoire, auoir, hauoyr, hevyoure, havur, 5–6 hauour, hauoir, 6 hauor, avyoure. In sense 3 in Sc. 6 avir, 6– aver, 8– aiver. [a. OF. aveir, aver, mod.F. avoir, possession, property, stuff, ‘stock,’ cattle, domestic animals, beasts of burden; lit. ‘having,’ subst. use of aveir, avoir:—L. habēre to have. So It. avere ‘substance, goods, stocke, chattle’ (Florio); Sp. averes, haveres, pl., ‘goods, wealth, substance’; whence med.L. aver, avere, averium, averum, ‘substance, goods,’ and avera, averia, pl. (in Anglo-Lat.), ‘beasts, cattle,’ sing. averum, -ium, sometimes averia, ‘beast,’ averius, affrus, affer, ‘beast of burden, draught-horse.’ Eng. had only the Norman form aveyr, aver, bef. 1400; the 15th c. introduced avoir from literary French, from Caxton onward havoir, havor, HAVOUR (q.v.) in sense 1. The earlier aver was retained in north. dial. only in a special sense (3).]
1. a. coll. sing. Possession, property, estate, wealth; money.
α. c. 1330. R. Brunne, Chron., 124. In suilk felonie gadred grete auere.
c. 1340. Hampole, Prose Tr., 24. Muchelle haver of worldely goodis.
1393. Langl., P. Pl., C. VII. 32. Þat men wende ich were, as in aueyr, riche.
c. 1450. Merlin, xi. 167. Thei boughten londes and rentes … with the auer that was departed.
1496. Dives & Paup. (W. de W.), VII. iv. 279/2. Unryghtfull occupyenge of ony … auer in this worlde, is called theeft.
1558[?]. Sir Lambervell, 150, in Furniv., Percy Folio, I. 149. I am a knight without hawere.
β. c. 1400. Rom. Rose, 4723. Havoire withoute possessioun.
c. 1410. Love, Bonavent. Mirr., xxiv. (Gibbs MS.), 53. All worldly ryches as in Aver [1530 W. de Worde, hauoyr].
c. 1450. Merlin, xx. 357. All the grete auoir that thei hadde conquered.
1483. Act 1 Rich. III., iv. § 1. Persones of noo substaunce ne havur.
1529. More, Comf. agst. Trib., III. Wks. 1221/1. A manne of some hauor and substaunce.
1600. Holland, Livy, XXXV. xxii. 900. Of any havoir, worth and worship.
b. plural. Possessions, goods, riches.
c. 1440. Partonope, 775. Gold and ryche averys.
c. 1450. Merlin, vi. 106. As sone as he hadde the grete auers.
2. pl. Farm-stock, cattle, domestic animals of any kind, beasts.
Common in Anglo-French and Anglo-Latin; though no vernacular instances have been found, the next sense must have arisen out of it.
[1292. Britton, II. xxiii. § 6. Cum il deit aver pasture a totes maneres des avers, et ne ly soit mie suffert for de a une manere de avers. (i.e., When he ought to have pasturage for all kinds of avers (beasts), and he is allowed to have it only for one manner of avers.)
a. 1300[?]. Reg. Majest., IV. xxvii. Averia, id est, animalia muta (transl., Avers, that is, dumb-animals).
c. 1481. Littleton, Tenures, § 71. Si come jeo bayle a vn home mes brebits a compester sa terre, ou mes bœfs a arer la terre, et il occist mes auers. [c. 1574 transl. If I lend to one my Sheepe to tathe his Land, or my Oxen to plow the Land, and he killeth my Cattell.)]
3. sing. A beast of burden, a draught ox or horse; hence, spec. a horse used for heavy work, a cart-horse; and in later usage, in north. dial., an old or worthless horse.
[1285. Stat. Westm., 2 c. 18. Vicecomes liberet ei omnia catalla debitoris, exceptis bobus et affris carucæ.
(1618. Pulton, transl., All the Cattells of the debtor, sauing onely his Oxen and beasts of his Plough.)
? Vitæ Abbat. S. Albani, 76 (Du C.). Centum equos, quorum alii erunt manni, alii vero runcini, alii summarii, alii veredarii, alii vero averii. (transl., A hundred horses, of which some shall be cobs … some avers.)]
c. 1505. Dunbar, Flyting, 229. And cager aviris castis bayth coillis and creilis.
1536. Bellenden, Cron. Scot. (1821), II. 269. I sall gar him draw like ane avir in ane cart.
1599. James I., Βασιλικον Δωρον (1603), 62. A kindely auer will never become a good horse.
1674. Ray, N. Countr. Wds., Average … deduced from the old word Aver [Averium] signifying a labouring beast.
1691. Blount, Law Dict., s.v. Affri (transl. Spelman), In Northumberland, to this day, they call a dull or slow Horse, a False aver, or Afer.
1820. Scott, Monast. (1867), 521/1. An auld jaded aver to ride upon.
