allow

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To let someone do something or let something happen.

   The parents allowed their child to stay out late.

2. 2
   verb

   To permit something to be present or to take place.

   We don't allow dogs here.

3. 3
   verb

   To make something possible.

   Careful preparation allows the acrobat to perform the move easily.

4. 4
   verb

   To set aside time, money, or resources for something.

   Allow an extra hour for the journey in case of traffic.

Multiword verbs with allow

• allow for Prepositional verb A2

  to take a possible event or requirement into account when planning

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Allow entered English around 1300 from Old French alouer, initially meaning “commend” or “sanction” and “assign as a right.” Its source was Latin allaudare, meaning “to praise,” reinforced by medieval Latin allocare, “to place.”

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Latin laus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin laudō Latin allaudō Old French aloer ▲ Latin ad- Latin locus ▲ Latin -ō Latin locō Latin allocō Old French aloer Anglo-Norman alouerbor. Middle English allowen English allow 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…

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External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary