Webster's English Dictionary

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allot

al.lot \*-'la:t\ vt or al.lot.ted;  or al.lot.ting [ME alotten, fr. MF 
   aloter, fr. a- (fr. L ad-) + lot], of Gmc origin; akin to OE hlot lot 1: to 
   assign as a share or portion : ALLOCATE  2: to distribute by lot or as if 
   by lot  haphazard or arbitrary distribution; ASSIGN stresses an 
   authoritative and fixed allotting but carries no clear implication of an 
   even division; APPORTION implies a dividing according to some principle; 
   ALLOCATE suggests a fixed appropriation usu. of money to a person or group 
   for a particular use SYN syn ASSIGN, APPORTION, ALLOCATE: ALLOT may imply