Origin: Latin suffix -ance
Allowance has 9 different meanings across 2 categories:
an amount allowed or granted (as during a given period)
"travel allowance"
"my weekly allowance of two eggs"
"a child's allowance should not be too generous"
a sum granted as reimbursement for expenses
"The company approved an allowance to cover the travel costs incurred during the business trip."
an amount added or deducted on the basis of qualifying circumstances
"an allowance for profit"
a reserve fund created by a charge against profits in order to provide for changes in the value of a company's assets
"The board approved creating an allowance from quarterly profits to offset potential depreciation in the market value of their industrial equipment."
permission; granting, conceding, or admitting
"The teacher allowed a short break before resuming the lesson."
In plain English: An allowance is regular money given to you by your parents for personal use.
"She received her weekly allowance on Friday to buy snacks for school."
Usage: The noun primarily refers to the regular amount of money given to someone, such as children for personal spending. Do not confuse this with "allowance" meaning permission, which is an archaic usage rarely encountered in modern speech.
put on a fixed allowance, as of food
"The community agreed to put on a fixed allowance of rice and beans for each household during the winter months."
To put upon a fixed allowance (especially of provisions and drink).
"The captain decided to allow an extra ration of water to each sailor during the long voyage across the desert."
In plain English: To allow something means to let it happen or give permission for it to occur.
"The teacher allowed us to leave early because we finished our work ahead of time."
The word allowance comes from the Middle English allouance, which was borrowed directly from Old French. It originally referred to a permission or grant given by someone in authority before evolving into its modern sense of money provided regularly for expenses.