ad valorem

English

Etymology

Latin.

Adverb

ad valorem (not comparable)

1. Measured by or in proportion to value.
   • c. 1900, O. Henry, The Lost Blend:

     "'I forgot to tell you, boys,' says he, 'that Nicaragua slapped an import duty of 48 per cent. ad valorem on all bottled goods last month.

   • 1996, David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest […], Boston, Mass., New York, N.Y.: Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN, page 33:

     […] the medical attaché is known among the shrinking upper classes of petro-Arab nations as the DeBakey of maxillofacial yeast, his staggering fee-scale as wholly ad valorem.

Derived terms

• ad valorem tax

Latin

Phrase

ad valorem

1. By value.