Etymology

allow

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Today it means: To let one have as a suitable share of something. Full definition →

Middle English allowen ← Anglo-Norman alouer ← Old French aloer
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂éd
  2. Proto-Italic*ad
  3. Proto-Italic*ad-
  4. Latinad-
  5. Latinlaus
  6. Latinlaudō
  7. Latinallaudō
  8. Old Frenchaloer
  9. Latinad-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*stel-der.?
  11. Proto-Italic*s(t)lokos
  12. Old Latinstlocus
  13. Latinlocus
  14. Latinlocō
  15. Latinallocō
  16. Old Frenchaloer
  17. Anglo-Normanalouer
  18. Middle Englishallowen
  19. English todayallow

From Middle English allowen, alowen, a borrowing from Anglo-Norman allouer, alouer, from Medieval Latin allaudāre, merged with alouer, from Medieval Latin allocō (“to assign”). Doublet of allaud (via allaudāre) or allocate (via allocāre). The similarity with Middle English alyfen (from Old English ālīefan) and German erlauben, both from Proto-Germanic *uzlaubijaną (“to allow”), is coincidental.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.