allow, v.
(əˈlaʊ)
Forms: 4–6 alowe, alow, (4 aloow), 5 aloue, 5–7 allowe, 6– allow.
[a. OFr. aloue-r (15th c. all-), 1. to praise, commend:—L. allaudā-re (f. al- = ad- to + laudāre to praise); 2. to bestow, assign:—L. allocā-re (f. al- = ad- + locāre to place, stow. The two were apparently completely identified in OFr. and viewed as senses of one word, which was adopted with both senses in Eng. a1300. Between the two primary significations there naturally arose a variety of uses blending them in the general idea of assign with approval, grant, concede a thing claimed or urged, admit a thing offered, permit, etc., etc.]
I. To praise, commend, approve of. II. To admit as probable. III. To permit. IV. To bestow, grant. V. To take into account, give credit for.
I. To praise, commend, sanction, view or receive with approbation. (Fr. alouer:—L. allaudāre.)
† 1. trans. To laud, praise, commend. Obs. or dial.
| c 1315 Shoreham 149 He wolde..be God ylyche, To be alowed. 1330 R. Brunne Chron. 281 Þe gode bisshop Antoyn þer he bare þe pris, His dedes ere to alowe, for his hardynesse. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xv. 4 Somme lakkede my lyf · allowed it fewe. c 1450 Merlin xx. 355 Gretly were thei to a-lowe and to preise. 1532 More Confut. Tindale Wks. 1557, 672/2 Saint Mary Magdaleyn was more alowed of Christ for bestowing that costly oyntemente vpon hys heade..then if she had solde it. 1551 Turner Herbal (1568) 77, I can alowe them for theyr labores in sekyng out of symples. 1600 Holland Livy xxvi. xiv. 594 To put that in execution which they so well allowed and approved. 1656 Bp. Hall Occas. Med. (1857) 201 Should I be censured by a world of men, when I am secretly allowed by thee, I could contemn it. 1783 Crabbe Village 1. Wks. 1834 II. 81 Proud To find the triumphs of his youth allow'd. |
2. a. To approve of, sanction (ranging from a sense hardly differing from the prec., to that of barely passing as acceptable or defensible). arch.
| c 1315 Shoreham 137 That everech man hyt moȝt alowe. 1399 Langl. Rich. Redeles ii. 69 ‘No, redely,’ quod reson, ‘that reule I alowe.’ 1413 Lydg. Pylgr. Sowle i. xiii. (1859) 9 Euery wigt loueth, and maynteneth the thyng that he alowith. 1535 Coverdale Ps. i. 6 For the Lorde aloweth y⊇ waye of the rightuous, but the waye of the vngodly shal perishe. a 1555 Ridley Wks. 390, I refused to allow the mass with my presence. 1611 Bible Luke xi. 48 Truely ye beare witnesse that ye allowe the deeds of your fathers. 1768 Blackstone Comm. I. 425 Upon reasonable cause to be allowed by a justice of the peace. |
b. intr. with upon, of: To approve of. (Still in some dialects as ‘allow on.’)
| c 1534 tr. Polyd. Verg., Eng. Hist. ii. 120 He cowld never be movyd..to alow uppon any practyse agaynst Kinge Edward. 1583 Let. in Fuller Ch. Hist. x. 159 [A thing] which I allow well of. 1660 Trial Regic. 142 If you countenance and allow of their authority. 1724 Wodrow Corr. (1843) III. 141, I use still the very same freedom with him..because I know you allow of this. |
3. a. To receive with approval or approbation; accept. arch.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 20034 Þou nu will mi wil a-lou. 1382 Wyclif Wisd. iii. 14 Ther shal be ȝiue to hym..lot in the temple of God most aloowid [1388 a most acceptable eritage]. 1465 Paston Lett. 498 II. 174, I vele but littille that my gode wille ys allowed. 1611 Cotgr., To Allow: allouer, greer, approuver, accepter. 1669 Boyle Occas. Refl. i. i. (1675) 78 God mercifully allows the Will for the Effect..favourably accepting what we can do. |
† b. intr. with of. (Cf. accept of.) Obs.
| 1579 Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 1/2 The Churches, whiche did alreadie verie well allowe of him. 1748 Richardson Clarissa (1811) I. i. 4 When I love you as never woman loved another, and when you have allowed of that concern and of that love—. |
II. To accept as reasonable or valid; to admit (intellectually).
4. a. To accept as true or valid; to acknowledge, admit, grant.
| 1548 Coverdale tr. Erasm. Paraphr. 1 Pet. 1 If any man allowe not the vnderstanding of Rome by Babylon. 1611 Bible Acts xxiv. 15 Hope towards God, which they themselues also allow. 1628 Coke On Litt. 29 b, Upon hearing the proofes either allowed or disallowed the same. 1770 Langhorne Plutarch's Lives (1879) I. 169/2 The citizens..were compelled..to allow his great abilities. 1876 Freeman Norm. Conq. II. App. 586 Her innocence shall be allowed. |
b. intr. with of. (Cf. accept, admit of.)
| 1528 Perkins Profit. Bk. ii. §158 (1642) 71 They allow of that which the principall speaketh. 1587 Holinshed Chron. I. 5/1 Manie doo not allow of this historie of Albion the giant. 1699 Bentley Phal. 362 If we allow of Their reckoning. 1724 A. Collins Gr. Chr. Relig. 133 As to what texts I have..alledg'd to you, you allow of them all. 1849 Lowell Biglow P. Wks. 1879, 199 Jortin is willing to allow of other miracles. |
5. with subord. clause. To admit something claimed; to acknowledge, grant, concede; to accede to an opinion.
| 1643 Milton Divorce i. xiii. (1847) 135/1, I suppose it will be allowed us that marriage is a human society. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 4 ¶5 She has, I will allow, a very pleasing Aspect. 1768 Franklin Ess. Wks. 1840 II. 370, I allow also that part of the expense of the rich is in foreign produce. 1858 Hawthorne Fr. & It. Jrnls. I. 131 He allowed that the old Pre-Raphaelites had..exquisite merits. |
6. with compl. (inf. formerly omitted or expressed by for) To acknowledge or admit a thing to be something.
| 1593 R. Harvey Philad. 36 Martia was generally allowed for ruler and king of the realme. 1624 Heywood Gunaik. iii. 144 Not allowing Porsenna a lawful judge in regard of their late league. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 512 note, The Self-Tormentor of Terence's, which is allowed a most excellent Comedy. 1777 Sheridan Sch. Scandal ii. ii. 249 They'll not allow our friend..to be handsome. 1798 Bay Amer. Law Rep. (1809) 43 It had been allowed for law. 1877 Mozley Univ. Serm. 129 Poetry is allowed to border upon the horizon of mysticism. |
7. To come to the conclusion, to form the opinion, or state as an opinion formed. (In Eng. and Amer. dialects.)
Also used in aphetic form 'low.
| 1580 Baret Alv. A 297 To Alowe, to make good or allowable, to declare to be true, Approbo. 1825 Neal Bro. Jonathan I. ii. 28 Her large eyes would sparkle—so the men ‘allowed’—like the mischief. a 1861 Winthrop John Brent (1883) iii. 26, I allowed from seeing you handle that thar hoss, that you had got your hand in on women. 1871 G. A. Townsend Mormon Trials 13 Well, in the first place, he allowed he was doing his religious duties, and he allowed that he had got to live with some one else. 1872 C. King Sierra Nev. v. 98, I allow you have killed your coon in your day? 1875 Parish Dict. Sussex Dial. 13 ‘Master Nappet, he allowed that it was almost too bad.’ 1880 Scribn. Mag. June 293, ‘I 'lowed I'd make him sorry fur it, an' I reckon I hev.’ |
III. To admit the realization of, permit.
8. a. trans. To concede, permit (an action or event).
| 1558 in Strype Ann. Ref. I. ii. App. i. 391 The queen's proclamation..allowing only the reading of the epistles. 1651 Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxi. 192 Where many sorts of Worship be allowed. Mod. Such practices are no longer allowed. |
b. with inf.
| 1637 Decree of Star Chamb. in Milton Areop. xvi. (Arb.) 16 Euery person or persons, now allowed or admitted to have the vse of a Presse. a 1754 Fielding Mod. Husb. iii. vi. Wks. 1784 II. 201 Mr. Gaywit does not allow me to play at Quadrille. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 99 He was not allowed to take advantage of the general rule. |
c. Also with ellipse of inf.: to permit to go or come in, out, etc.
| 1864 Trollope Small House at Allington II. xxv. 260 He could not have been allowed again into my drawing-room. 1882 Besant All Sorts xiv, Then he allows the Conservatives..back again, and gives them another show. 1911 Rep. Labour & Social Conditions Germany III. 76 The miners who were in the company were allowed to some parts. 1915 R. Brooke Let. 12 Mar. in Coll. Poems (1918) p. cxlii, We were allowed ashore from 5 to midnight. 1924 D. Garnett Man in Zoo 19 He was allowed out every evening after closing-time. |
9. refl. To surrender oneself to, lend oneself to (obs.); to permit oneself to indulge in.
| 1605 Shakes. Lear iii. vii. 107 His roguish madness Allows itself to anything. a 1716 Bp. O. Blackall Wks. 1723 I. 149 If the Man..allows himself in that Wickedness which he thinks his Religion allows of. 1815 Paley Serm. (ed. 7) vii. 126 The true child of God allows himself in no sin whatever. 1860 Ruskin Mod. Paint. V. ix. v. 247 It refuses to allow itself in any violent or spasmodic passion. |
10. intr. with of. To permit the occurrence or existence of, to admit of.
| 1732 T. Lediard Sethos II. ix. 290 His condition would not allow of his talking longer. 1750 Johnson Rambler No. 97 ¶19 She tacitly allows of his future visits. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. §27. 209 The snow..sufficiently compact to allow of a stake being firmly fixed in it. |
IV. To allot, assign, bestow (Fr. allouer:—L. allocāre).
† 11. To assign to any one as his right or due; to accord. (With direct and indir. obj.) Obs.
| 1330 R. Brunne Chron. 77 On þe same asise serued & alowed Of alle þe franchise, þat it are was dowed. 1463 Mann. & Househ. Exps. 152 My mastyre alowyd hys fermour off Freffeld ffor otys..vs. xd. 1530 Palsgr. 421/1, I alowe him xiid. a day for his costes: je luy aloue douze deniers par jour pour ses despens. 1580 Baret Alv. A 302 To alow or finde ones costes or expences, Sumptus alicui rei suggerere. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. iv. i. 303 And you must cut this flesh from off his breast; The Law allowes it, and the court awards it. |
12. a. To give, or let any one have, as his share, or as appropriate to his needs. (Const. as in 11.)
| c 1370 Wyclif Wks. 1880, 387 He alowid þe comonte her liflode. 1555 Fardle of Facions ii. viii. 173 A certaine of graine allowed them at the kinges allowaunce. 1696 Whiston Th. Earth iv. (1722) 320 In this Six Days' Creation one entire Day is allow'd to the Formation of the Air. 1735 Pope Hor. Ep. ii. i. 193 Allow him but his plaything of a Pen. 1856 Brewster Mart. Sc. ii. iii. (ed. 3) 143 It was arranged that the Emperor should allow him 100 florins. |
b. refl.
| 1751 Johnson Rambler 13 Apr., He, therefore, that allows himself to be dissatisfied while he can perceive any error or defect, must refer his hopes of ease to some other period of existence. 1874 Hardy Far from Madding Crowd II. ii. 27 She contemplated it firmly, allowing herself, nevertheless,..to dwell upon the happy life she would have enjoyed had Troy been Boldwood. 1888 Mrs. H. Ward R. Elsmere xvii, Robert, meanwhile..had been allowing himself a little deliberate study of Mr. Wendover. Ibid. xlii, Madame de Netteville allowed herself plenty of jests with her intimates. 1896 ‘H. S. Merriman’ Sowers vii, He would not allow himself the luxury of being the first arrival. |
† 13. To give an allowance to (a person); to portion, endow. Obs.
| a 1677 Barrow Serm., Rew. honouring God, Those whom he..maintains in a handsome garb, allows largely. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 496 §2 The Father who allows his Son to his utmost ability. |
V. To admit or take into account.
† 14. To place to one's credit in an account; to reckon, count to one. Obs.
| c 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 2467 Alle the gud dedys that we haf done Onence our syns sal than sem fone; And yhit we er unsyker..Wether thai sal be alowed or noght. 1382 Wyclif Gen. xv. 6 Abram leuede to God, and it was alowid to hym to ryȝtwisnes. 1440 Promp. Parv., Allowyn yn rekenynge, Alloco. 1667 E. Chamberlayne St. Gr. Brit. i. ii. xiii. 121 They deliver the same attested for a lawful Tally to the Clerk of the Pipe to be allowed in the Great Roll. |
† 15. Hence, To remit or deduct from the debit or the amount due or charged; to abate. Obs.
| 1501 in Bury Wills (1850) 91, I will that John Etoon haue alowyd iij li. to hym of the laste payment of mony that he owyth on to me. 1530 Palsgr. 420/2, I alowe or abate upon a reckenyng or accompte made. |
16. gen. To make an addition or deduction, as the case may be, of (so much), on account of something requiring to be taken into consideration, though not formally appearing in the reckoning.
| 1663 Gerbier Counsel 87 In exchange of old lead for sheets new run, is allowed three shillings in every hundred weight for waste. 1756 Burke Vind. Nat. Soc. Wks. I. 18 It will therefore be very reasonable to allow on their account as much as added to the losses of the conqueror, may amount to a million of deaths. Mod. You must allow an hour at least for time lost in changing trains, and waiting at stations. |
17. to allow for: To allow what is right or fair, to make due allowance for; also fig. To bear in mind as a modifying or extenuating circumstance.
| c 1711 Addison (J.) Allowing..for the different ways of making it. 1742 Richardson Pamela III. 48 If your Ladyship will not allow for me..what will become of me? a 1762 Lady M. Montague Lett. lxxix. 131, I allow a great deal for the inconstancy of mankind. Mod. To allow for expansion or shrinkage, for friction or the resistance of the air, for the increase of population since the census, for the place and circumstances of a speech, etc. |