Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - allowance

 I. noun  Date: 14th century  1.  a. a share or portion allotted or granted  b. a sum granted as a reimbursement or bounty or for expenses salary includes cost-of-living ~; especially a sum regularly provided for personal or household expenses each child has an ~  c. a fixed or available amount provide an ~ of time for recreation  d. a reduction from a list price or stated price a trade-in ~  2. an imposed handicap (as in a horse race)  3. an allowed dimensional difference between mating parts of a machine  4. the act of allowing ; permission  5. a taking into account of mitigating circumstances or contingencies the plan makes no ~ for bad weather  II. transitive verb  (-anced; -ancing)  Date: 1758  1. archaic to put on a fixed ~ (as of food and drink)  2. archaic to supply in a fixed or regular quantity