avail

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English

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WOTD – 15 August 2012

Etymology

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From Middle English availen (“to be of use”), from Old French a (“to”) + vail from valoir (“to be worth”), from Latin valere (“to be worthy, strong”).

Pronunciation

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Verb

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avail (third-person singular simple present avails, present participle availing, simple past and past participle availed)

  1. (transitive, often reflexive) To turn to the advantage of.
    I availed myself of the opportunity.
    • 2021 July 25, Stephen Burgen, “Departures at high-profile Barcelona museum provoke anger in art world”, in The Observer‎[1], →ISSN:
      It asserts that the museum has clear protocols for dealing with any form of discrimination or discontent, which it says [Tanya] Barson never availed herself of, […]
  2. (transitive) To be of service to.
    Artifices will not avail the sinner in the day of judgment.
  3. (transitive) To promote; to assist.
  4. (intransitive) To be of use or advantage; to answer or serve the purpose; to have strength, force, or efficacy sufficient to accomplish the object.
    The plea in court must avail.
    This scheme will not avail.
    Medicines will not avail to halt the disease.
    • 1713, Alexander Pope, The Wife of Bath Her Prologue, translation of original by Geoffrey Chaucer:
      All of this avail’d not, for whoe’er he be
      That tells my faults, I hate him mortally; […]
    • 1817, Sir Walter Scott, Rob Roy:
      Words avail very little with me, young man.
    • 1905, Lord Dunsany [i.e., Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany], The Gods of Pegāna, London: [Charles] Elkin Mathews, […], →OCLC, page 21:
      All day long to Mung cry out the Priests of Mung, and yet Mung harkeneth not. What, then, shall avail the prayers of All the People?
  5. (India, Africa, elsewhere proscribed) To provide; to make available; to use or take advantage of (an opportunity or available resource).
    You can avail discounts on food.
    • 2004 November 16, Nik Ogbulie, “Decongesting the Banking Floors”, in This Day‎[2], archived from the original on 22 January 2009:
      With this initiative, Valucard becomes an open system that is not limited to point of sale (POS) transactions, but now avails cash to its holders in various locations nationwide.
    • 2014, Shilpa Vishwas Date, Jyoti Rokade, Vidya Mule, Shreedher Dandapannavar, “Female sterilization failure: Review over a decade and its clinicopathological correlation”, in International Journal of Applied and Basic Medical Research‎[3], number 4(2), →DOI, pages 81–85:
      Over 85.3% of all persons who have adopted this method of contraception availed this service from government facilities.

Antonyms

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Derived terms

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terms related to avail (verb)

Translations

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Noun

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avail (countable and uncountable, plural avails)

  1. Effect in achieving a goal or aim; purpose, use (now usually in negative constructions). [from 15th c.]
    I tried fixing it to no avail.
    Labor, without economy, is of little avail.
    • 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter II, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC, page 071:
      Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill.
    • 2014 October 18, Paul Doyle, “Southampton hammer eight past hapless Sunderland in barmy encounter”, in The Guardian:
      At half-time, Poyet replaced Wes Brown with Liam Bridcutt in the heart of defence and sent out the rest of the players to atone for their first-half mistakes. To no avail.
  2. (now only US) Proceeds; profits from business transactions. [from 15th c.]
  3. (television, advertising) An advertising slot or package.
  4. (US, politics, journalism) A press avail.
    While holding an avail yesterday, the candidate lashed out at critics.
  5. (British, acting) Non-binding notice of availability for work.
  6. (oil industry) A readily available stock of oil.
  7. (obsolete) Benefit; value, profit; advantage toward success. [15th–19th c.]
    • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “ij”, in Le Morte Darthur, book II (in Middle English):
      I shal take the aduenture sayd Balen that god wille ordeyne me / but the swerd ye shalle not haue at this tyme by the feythe of my body / ye shalle repente hit within short tyme sayd the damoysel/ For I wold haue the swerd more for your auaylle than for myne / for I am passyng heuy for your sake
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
    • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 1, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book III, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:
      hardy Citizens […] sticke not to sacrifice their honours and consciences, as those of old, their lives, for their Countries availe and safety.
    • 1895, Andrew Lang, A Monk of Fife:
      So this friar, unworthy as he was of his holy calling, had me at an avail on every side, nor do I yet see what I could do but obey him, as I did.
  8. (obsolete, poetic) Effort; striving.
    • 1613, Thomas Campion, “Songs of Mourning”, in Poetical Works (in English) of Thomas Campion, published 1907, page 125:
      And ev'n now, though he breathless lies, his sails / Are struggling with the winds, for our avails / T'explore a passage hid from human tract, / Will fame him in the enterprise or fact.

Usage notes

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  • (success or benefit): Very often encountered in negative phrases, such as of or to no or little avail.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Adjective

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avail (comparative more avail, superlative most avail)

  1. (colloquial) Clipping of available.
    • 2020 July 20, Salvador Hernandez, “Former Fox News Anchor Ed Henry Has Been Accused Of Rape And Sexual Harassment In A New Lawsuit”, in BuzzFeed News‎[4], archived from the original on 2023-07-16:
      In another incident, Henry allegedly sent Areu a video titled "Fastest interview" in which a woman flashes her vagina to a man during a job interview and then immediately receives a job offer. Henry allegedly followed up the video by texting Areu, "Are you avail for anchor interview."
    • 2023 January 9, Sarah Galli, “Jen Shah's Prison Sentencing Was Like Another BravoCon—And Housewives Fans Are Conflicted”, in The Daily Beast‎[5], archived from the original on 2023-03-31:
      Bravoholic NYC resident Trace Bechter, who attended the sentencing, disagreed with Stein's understanding of Housewives as purely scripted entertainment. "I thought, that can't be true, because if this current season of RHOSLC was written, we need completely new scriptwriters." (Bravo, I'm avail.)

Anagrams

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