allocate
verb
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L106 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈæl.ə.keɪt/ / /ˈæl.əˌkeɪt/ / /ˈæl.oʊˌkeɪt/
adj
Etymology: 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.
- allocated
noun
Etymology: 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.”).
- A writ authorizing payment, allowance, grant.
verb
Etymology: From Latin allocātus, perfect passive participle of Latin allocō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from ad- (“to”) + locō. Doublet of allow. By surface analysis, al- + locate.
- To set aside for a purpose.
“Please do not eat the meringue, as it is allocated for the dinner party tomorrow.”
“By March 1994, it had moved to Cardiff Canton, and was still allocated there when its nameplates were taken off in March 1997.”
- 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.”
- 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.”