Allocate

//ˈæl.ə.keɪt// adj, noun, verb

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    allocated not-comparable, obsolete
Noun
  1. 1
    A writ authorizing payment, allowance, grant. UK, historical, obsolete
Verb
  1. 1
    To set aside for a purpose.

    "Please do not eat the meringue, as it is allocated for the dinner party tomorrow."

  2. 2
    distribute according to a plan or set apart for a special purpose wordnet
  3. 3
    To distribute according to a plan, generally followed by the adposition to.

    "The bulk of K–12 education funds are allocated to school districts that in turn pay for the cost of operating schools."

  4. 4
    To reserve a portion of memory for use by a computer program.

    "The memory manager allocates memory to requesting processes until there is no more memory available or until there are no more processes waiting for memory."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Latin allocātus, perfect passive participle of Latin allocō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from ad- (“to”) + locō. Doublet of allow.

Etymology 2

From Middle English allocat(e) (“allocated”), originally used as the past participle of allocate, from Latin allocātus, see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more.

Etymology 3

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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