*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of aver

From Middle English averren, from Old French averer, from Early Medieval Latin advērō, a verb derived from Latin vērus (“true”). Compare Modern French avérer.

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
verb

To assert the truth of (something); to affirm (something) with confidence; to declare (something) in a positive manner. · To justify or prove (an allegation or plea that one has made). · To avouch, prove, or verify the existence or happening of (something), or to offer to do so.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English averren, from Old French averer, from Early Medieval Latin advērō, a verb derived from Latin vērus (“true”). Compare Modern French avérer.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*weh₁-"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "averren"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English averren"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "averer"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French averer"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-eme",
        "3": "advērō"
      },
      "expansion": "Early Medieval Latin advērō"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "vērus",
        "t": "true"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin vērus (“true”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "avérer"
      },
      "expansion": "French avérer"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "averren",
      "averren#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "averer",
      "averer#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "advērō",
      "advero#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "vērus",
      "verus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "avérer",
      "avérer#French"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
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        "To assert the truth of (something); to affirm (something) with confidence; to declare (something) in a positive manner.",
        "To justify or prove (an allegation or plea that one has made).",
        "To avouch, prove, or verify the existence or happening of (something), or to offer to do so."
      ],
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        "ambitransitive",
        "obsolete",
        "transitive"
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A beast of burden; chiefly a workhorse, but also a working ox or other animal. · An old, useless horse: a nag.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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], 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 (“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.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Root classification mention*gʰeh₁bʰ-ine-pro
  • Inherited-form mentionaverenm
  • Derivation mentionaverfro
  • Cognate mentionavoirfr · asset, possession
  • Derivation mentionhabeōla
  • Derivation mention*gʰeh₁bʰ-ine-pro
  • Inherited-form mentioneaforang · workhorse; tenant’s obligation to transport goods
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*gʰeh₁bʰ-"
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      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "aver"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English aver"
    },
    {
      "name": "nb...",
      "args": {
        "1": "auer, auere, aueyr, auoir, auoyre, aveer, aveir, avoir, avour, hauoir, hauour, hauoyr, haveour, haver, havoir, havoire, havour, havur, havyor, havyour, havyoure, hawere, hower",
        "otherforms": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "[and other forms]"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "aver"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French aver"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "avoir",
        "t": "asset, possession"
      },
      "expansion": "French avoir (“asset, possession”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "habeō",
        "4": "habēre",
        "5": "to have, hold; to have, own (possessions)"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin habēre (“to have, hold; to have, own (possessions)”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
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        "4": "*gʰeh₁bʰ-, *ǵʰeh₁bʰ-",
        "5": "to grab, take"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *gʰeh₁bʰ-, *ǵʰeh₁bʰ- (“to grab, take”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "eafor",
        "t": "workhorse; tenant’s obligation to transport goods"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English eafor (“workhorse; tenant’s obligation to transport goods”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "aver",
      "aver#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "avere",
      "avere#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "aver",
      "aver#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "aveir",
      "aveir#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "avoir",
      "avoir#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "avoir",
      "avoir#French"
    ],
    [
      "aveir",
      "aveir#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "avoir",
      "avoir#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "habēre",
      "habeo#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "*gʰeh₁bʰ-, *ǵʰeh₁bʰ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/gʰeh₁bʰ-"
    ],
    [
      "eafor",
      "eafor#Old_English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
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      "glosses": [
        "A beast of burden; chiefly a workhorse, but also a working ox or other animal.",
        "An old, useless horse: a nag."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "archaic",
        "dialectal",
        "Northern-England",
        "Scotland"
      ],
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}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for aver →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-YXZlcg