Allowance

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /əˈlaʊəns/

Definitions

1. A fixed amount of something permitted or allocated, especially money given regularly for a specific purpose
2. A predetermined quantity of resources or funds assigned for a particular usage, often provided periodically for an individual’s expenses or needs
3. An approved sum or measure of resources granted for a specific purpose, typically for regular expenses or supports

Etymology: The word's core is a verb, "allow," and its ancestry runs through Old French and Latin. Latin "allaudare" meant to praise or approve, built from "ad-" (to) and "laudare" (to praise, from "laus," praise). That sense of approving survives in the verb: to allow something once meant to commend it or assent to it. The Latin verb's sense shifted toward granting or permitting, and Old French "alouer" carried that meaning, both to approve and to assign or hire out someone's labour. From Old French "alouance," the noun entered Middle English as "allouance," and it kept the sense of something granted or assigned. The "-ance" ending comes from Old French, where it turned verbs into nouns of action or state, so an allowance was originally the act of permitting or assigning, and only later the amount itself. Over time, the thing granted, especially a regular sum of money set aside for a particular purpose, became the dominant meaning.

Synonyms: grant, allocation, stipend

Antonyms: withholding