A term used to describe a surface that seems to prefer contact with water to contact with air. In flotation, minerals with a water-avid surface will not float, while those with an airavid surface will. The object of reagent additions in flotation is to form a water-repellent surface on the minerals to be floated and a water-avid surface on the minerals that are not to float (hydrophilic). Compare: air-avid surface