English
allowance
Allowance comes from Old French alouance ‘permission’, from Latin allocō ‘to allocate’, and ultimately from Old Latin stlocus.
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEstlocus
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElocus‘place’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CElocō
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEallocō‘to allocate’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400aloer
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400alouer
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400alouance‘permission’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500allouance
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602allowance
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEstlocus
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElocus‘place’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CElocō
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEallocō‘to allocate’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400aloer
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400alouer
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400alouance‘permission’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500allouance
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602allowance
Earliest quotation: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “The censure of the which one must in your…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *stel- ‘to put, to place’
stole, install, stool, apostle, stall, stalk, stale, epistle, stele, apostolate, stela, stolid, stell, 26 more
through Old Latin stlocus
locality, milieu, locale, 10 more
through Latin locus ‘place’
local, location, lieu, loco, locus, locative, 13 more
through Latin locō
locate, locator, collocation, 8 more
through Latin allocō ‘to allocate’
Today it means
noun Permission; granting, conceding, or admitting.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old Latin stlocus / allowance