deviance
UK[ˈdiːviəns]US[ˈdiːviəns]
n
Behaviour that is different from what most people consider to be normal or acceptable.
n
The amount by which a single measurement differs from a fixed value such as the mean.
Morpheme Breakdown
de
vi
ance
de
away, off
vi
way, road
ance
noun suffix
Etymology
The word 'deviance' originates from the Latin verb 'deviare', meaning "to turn out of the way, to stray". This verb is a compound of the prefix 'de-' ("away from, off") and 'via' ("way, road"). The literal sense was to physically wander from the established path. This concept was adopted into Middle French as 'devier', and the noun-forming suffix '-ance' was added to create a term for the state or condition of straying. In its journey into English, the concrete meaning of geographical straying evolved into the modern sociological and statistical abstractions, referring to a departure from accepted social norms or a numerical value from a standard.
Analysis
Structure: de (away, off) + vi (way, road) + ance (noun suffix)
de: Latin origin, a prefix meaning "away from, off, down".
vi: Latin origin, from the root of 'via' meaning "way, road, path".
ance: Latin origin (via French), a noun-forming suffix indicating an action, state, or quality.
Examples
The study examines the social causes of deviance.
Sexual deviance was a major theme in the controversial film.
The statistician calculated the standard deviance of the data set.