[de.vi.ate] vb -at.ed ; -at.ing [LL deviatus, pp. of deviare, fr. L de- + via way--more at way] vi (ca. 1633) 1: to stray esp. from a standard, principle, or topic
2: to depart from an established course or norm ~ vt: to cause to turn out of a previous course syn see swerve -- de.vi.a.tor n -- de.vi.a.to.ry adj
[2]de.vi.ate n (1912) 1: one that deviates from a norm; esp: a person who differs markedly from a group norm
2: a statistical variable that gives the deviation of another variable from a fixed value (as the mean) [3]de.vi.ate adj (1929): departing significantly from the behavioral norms of a particular society