allowance

plural allowances · alternative obsolete allowaunce

1. countableuncountablePermission; granting, conceding, or admitting.

   you sent a large commission to Gregory de Cassado, to conclude, without the King's will or the state's allowance

   1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]

   3 more examples

   [Mr. Michie] Q[uestion]. Didn't Dr. Carter, Director of the OHTA [Office of Health Technology Assessment], and Martin Erlichman, OHTA scientific analyst assigned to this assessment, express to you concerns about 60 days being unreasonable as far as timeframe was concerned for this assessment? [Mr. Marshall] A[nswer]. There was some discussion about that, but that occurred some time later when we made the decision to put a notice in the Federal Register. We—when we do an assessment, we put a notice in the Federal Register and then that requires the allowance of a certain amount of time for public comment.

   1986, Special Committee on Aging, United States Senate, Hazards in reuse of disposable dialysis devices: staff report to the Special Committee on Aging, United States Senate, U.S. Government Printing Office, page 272

   The physical background of foaming of the complex fermentation liquids is not well understood. Proteins do play a major role, but all other components can also be important. Foaming is a problem, but its relation to mass transfer leads to the allowance of a certain amount of foam on top of the fermenter. For foam control a number of methods are available. Most widely used are the antifoam liquids and the centrifugal separator. The latter one should be equipped with a safety antifoam dosage device also and is less attractive for large-scale applications.

   1991, Klaas van't Riet, Johannes Tramper, Basic Bioreactor Design, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 286

   The colossal stupidity of the one-party strategy has had three disastrous effects: the nurturance of right-wing Republican homophobes, the weakening and silencing of pro-gay, progressive Republicans, and the allowance of lacklustrer^([sic]), liberal Democrats to exploit us at their will and ignore us at their convenience.

   1991 February 4, David Lafontaine, Patrick Ward, “Why Our Future Is In The GOP”, in Gay Community News, volume 18, number 28, page 5

   Synonyms: authorization, permission, sanction, tolerance, authority, authorization, clearance, consent

2. countableuncountableAcknowledgment.

   The censure of the which one must in your allowance overweigh a whole theater of others.

   c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]

3. countableuncountableAn amount, portion, or share that is allotted or granted; a sum granted as a reimbursement, a bounty, or as appropriate for any purpose.

   her meagre allowance of food or drink

   1 more example

   Being a volunteer is unpaid, but we get accommodation and a living allowance of 100 euros a week.

   Synonyms: stipend

   1. countableuncountableSuch a sum or portion granted to a family member or familiar, especially one's own child; pocket money for such a person.

      She gives her daughters each an allowance of thirty dollars a month.

      1 more example

      Some persons averred that Sir Pitt Crawley gave his brother a handsome allowance.

      1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC

      Synonyms: stipend

4. countableuncountableAbatement; deduction; the taking into account of mitigating circumstances.

   to make allowance for his naivety

   1 more example

   After making the largest allowance for fraud.

   1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC

5. countableuncountablebusinessA deduction from the gross weight of goods, such as to discount their container's weight or per a custom differing by country.

   Minus the allowance, the total came to thirteen tons.

6. countableuncountablehobbiesA permitted reduction in the weight that a racehorse must carry.

   On the Flat, an apprentice jockey starts with an allowance of 7 lb.

   Antonyms: penalty

7. countableuncountablemintingA permissible deviation in the fineness and weight of coins, owing to the difficulty in securing exact conformity to the standard prescribed by law.

   Synonyms: remedy, tolerance

8. countableobsoleteuncountableApproval; approbation.

   […]gave allowance where he needed none

   1807, George Crabbe, The Parish Register

   Synonyms: accedence, consent, sanction, accedence, accession, approbation, approval, assent

9. countableobsoleteuncountableLicense; indulgence.

   this Allowance for their Transgressions

   1695, John Locke, The Reasonableness of Christianity

10. countablehistoricaluncountablelawA sum of money allotted to a wife for her separate maintenance, especially alimony granted upon a legal separation or divorce.

    '[…] Her legal allowance was not adequate to her fortune, nor sufficient for her comfortable maintenance […].

    1811, [Jane Austen], chapter IX, in Sense and Sensibility […], volume II, London: […] C[harles] Roworth, […], and published by T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC

11. countableuncountableengineeringA planned deviation between an exact dimension and a nominal or theoretical dimension.

present singular third person allowances · participle present allowancing · participle past allowanced · past allowanced · alternative obsolete allowaunce

1. transitiveTo put upon a fixed allowance (especially of provisions and drink).

   The captain was obliged to allowance his crew.

2. transitiveTo supply in a fixed and limited quantity.

   Our provisions were allowanced.