Noun

The state or quality of being moderate; avoidance of extremes

* {{quote-book

, passage=...It regulates and governs the Passions of the Mind, and brings them into due moderation and frame... , page=17 , title=An Account of the Growth of Deism in England , author=William Stephens , year=1696}}

* 1772 , , [http://books.google.com/books?id=twVuAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA394]:

Mr. Chairman, at this moment I stand astonished at my own moderation !

* 1821 October 12, , [http://books.google.com/books?id=5q4XBa5jsy8C&pg=PA7]:

America is a model of force and freedom and moderation - with all the coarseness and rudeness of its people.

An instance of moderating: bringing something away from extremes, especially in a beneficial way

* {{quote-news, year=1936, date=March, work=The Southern Lumberman citation

, passage=With the quick moderation of the weather some buying has appeared that had been held up because of the extremely cold weather

The process of moderating a discussion

The moderation of a large online forum can be hard work.

Noun

(en noun)

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.

The state or result of having deviated; a transgression; an act of sin; an error; an offense.

(contract law) 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.

(Absolute Deviation) The shortest distance between the center of the target and the point where a projectile hits or bursts.

(statistics) For interval variables and ratio variables, a measure of difference between the observed value and the mean.

(metrology) The signed difference between a value and its reference value.