allot
UK[əˈlɒt]US[əˈlɑːt]
v
to give time, money, tasks, etc. to somebody/something as a share of what is available
v
to decide officially to use something for a particular purpose
Morpheme Breakdown
al
lot
al
to
lot
portion
Etymology
the word 'allot' is a combination of the latin-derived directional prefix 'ad-' (here assimilated to 'al-') and the old english noun 'lot'. the prefix 'ad-' signifies motion toward or addition, while 'lot' originally referred to a physical token, such as a pebble or piece of wood, drawn to assign a portion or determine fate. the literal sense of 'to assign by lot' evolved into the more general modern meaning of distributing or apportioning shares. this semantic shift reflects a move from the specific method of random allocation to the broader concept of authoritative distribution.
Analysis
Structure: al (to) + lot (portion)
al- (a variant of the prefix 'ad-'), from latin 'ad' meaning 'to, toward'. lot, from old english 'hlot' meaning 'an object used to determine someone's share, a portion'.
Examples
each speaker was allotted ten minutes for their presentation.
a large sum of money has been allotted for building repairs.
the manager will allot the tasks based on individual strengths.