Allocated

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈæl.ə.keɪ.tɪd/

Definitions

1. Resources or funds have been distributed to designated recipients or functions
2. Time or assets have been apportioned for specific tasks or individuals
3. Set aside or designated for certain purposes or individuals as part of a plan

Etymology: Allocated is the past tense and past participle of "allocate," which is formed from Latin "allocare," meaning "to place to" or "to assign," built from "ad-" ("to") and "locare" ("to place"). The Latin root "locare" is also behind "locate," so the two verbs are close relatives, though "allocate" is the one that carries a sense of assigning a share of something. The most surprising route runs through medieval administration. In Middle English, "allocate" was the common opening word of writs authorizing payment of a pension, allowance or debt, and the word may have come to mean "a warrant" in that legal setting. Over time the sense shifted from the act of a payment order to the more general idea of distributing resources to a specific purpose. "Allow" is a doublet of "allocate," meaning the two words descend from the same Latin source but reached English by different routes, one through Old French and one directly from Latin.

Synonyms: distributed, assigned, apportioned, designated, allocated

Antonyms: withheld, retracted, rescinded, kept, held