Allower

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person or thing that grants permission for an action or lets something happen
2. Someone who consents to or tolerates a practice, situation, or behavior
3. One who authorizes, sanctions, or otherwise lets another party do something

Etymology: "Allower" is a plain formation: the verb "allow" with the agent suffix "-er," which turns a verb into a noun for the one who performs its action. An allower, then, is simply someone who allows, or gives permission. The verb "allow" itself came into English from Old French "alouer," which meant to approve or to grant, and it is the same root that gives English "allocate" and "allowance" by way of the older sense of assigning or setting apart a share. The "-er" ending is one of the most productive suffixes in English, and it attaches freely to verbs, so writers can coin an agent noun whenever a verb needs one. "Allower" is rare, mostly appearing where a writer wants a neutral word for the giver of permission rather than the more common "permitter" or "authoriser." Its meaning follows directly from the verb, with no shift along the way.

Synonyms: permitter

Antonyms: forbidder