- deviation
- deviation de`vi*a"tion, n. [LL. deviatio: cf. F.
d['e]viation.]
1. The act of deviating; a wandering from the way; variation
from the common way, from an established rule, etc.;
departure, as from the right course or the path of duty.
[1913 Webster]
2. The state or result of having deviated; a transgression; an act of sin; an error; an offense. [1913 Webster]
3. (Com.) The voluntary and unnecessary departure of a ship from, or delay in, the regular and usual course of the specific voyage insured, thus releasing the underwriters from their responsibility. [1913 Webster]
4. (Statistics, Physics) the difference between an expected value of an observation or measurement and the actual value. [PJC]
{Deviation of a falling body} (Physics), that deviation from a strictly vertical line of descent which occurs in a body falling freely, in consequence of the rotation of the earth.
{Deviation of the compass}, the angle which the needle of a ship's compass makes with the magnetic meridian by reason of the magnetism of the iron parts of the ship.
{Deviation of the line of the vertical}, the difference between the actual direction of a plumb line and the direction it would have if the earth were a perfect ellipsoid and homogeneous, -- caused by the attraction of a mountain, or irregularities in the earth's density. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
