allocate

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To give out or set aside money, time, or resources for a particular purpose.

   The council allocated extra funds for new school buildings.

2. 2
   verb

   To reserve part of a computer's memory for a program to use.

   The system automatically allocates memory to each running process.

From Middle English allocate (the common first word of writs authorizing payment), from Medieval Latin allocātum, substantivized from the nominative neuter singular of allocātus, see -ate (noun-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more. Alternatively, from allocāte, the second-person plural imperative of allocō, compare English liberate (“a warrant for the payment of a pension, allowance, debt, etc.”).

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