# allowance

> English word · Noun · IPA /əˈlaʊəns/ · frequency rank #8,887

## Definitions
1. Permission; granting, conceding, or admitting.
2. Acknowledgment.
3. An amount, portion, or share that is allotted or granted; a sum granted as a reimbursement, a bounty, or as appropriate for any purpose.
4. An amount, portion, or share that is allotted or granted; a sum granted as a reimbursement, a bounty, or as appropriate for any purpose.
5. Abatement; deduction; the taking into account of mitigating circumstances.
6. A deduction from the gross weight of goods, such as to discount their container's weight or per a custom differing by country.
7. A permitted reduction in the weight that a racehorse must carry.
8. A permissible deviation in the fineness and weight of coins, owing to the difficulty in securing exact conformity to the standard prescribed by law.
9. Approval; approbation.
10. License; indulgence.
11. A planned deviation between an exact dimension and a nominal or theoretical dimension.

## Etymology
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
Old French alouer
Proto-Indo-European *-yós
Proto-Italic *-ios
Old Latin -ios
Latin -ius
Latin -iader.
Old French -ance
Old French alouancebor.
Middle English allouance
English allowance
From Middle English allouance, from Old French alouance. Morphologically allow + -ance.

## Easily confused with
- **alliance** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/alliance-vs-allowance)
- **allowable** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/allowable-vs-allowance)

## Common misspellings (12)
`alloawnce`, `allowacne`, `allowancce`, `allowanec`, `allowannce`, `allowence`, `allownace`, `allowwance`, `allwoance`, `alolwance`, `alowance`, `lalowance`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/allowance