In 1511, leaders in Mecca believed coffee stimulated radical thinking and outlawed the drink. In 1524, the leaders overturned that order, and people could drink coffee again.
ALLOW
allow, take into account
(verb) allow or plan for a certain possibility; concede the truth or validity of something; “I allow for this possibility”; “The seamstress planned for 5% shrinkage after the first wash”
allow, appropriate, earmark, set aside, reserve
(verb) give or assign a resource to a particular person or cause; “I will earmark this money for your research”; “She sets aside time for meditation every day”
permit, allow, let, countenance
(verb) consent to, give permission; “She permitted her son to visit her estranged husband”; “I won’t let the police search her basement”; “I cannot allow you to see your exam”
allow, permit, tolerate
(verb) allow the presence of or allow (an activity) without opposing or prohibiting; “We don’t allow dogs here”; “Children are not permitted beyond this point”; “We cannot tolerate smoking in the hospital”
allow, grant
(verb) let have; “grant permission”; “Mandela was allowed few visitors in prison”
allow
(verb) grant as a discount or in exchange; “The camera store owner allowed me $50 on my old camera”
let, allow, permit
(verb) make it possible through a specific action or lack of action for something to happen; “This permits the water to rush in”; “This sealed door won’t allow the water come into the basement”; “This will permit the rain to run off”
leave, allow for, allow, provide
(verb) make a possibility or provide opportunity for; permit to be attainable or cause to remain; “This leaves no room for improvement”; “The evidence allows only one conclusion”; “allow for mistakes”; “leave lots of time for the trip”; “This procedure provides for lots of leeway”
admit, allow
(verb) afford possibility; “This problem admits of no solution”; “This short story allows of several different interpretations”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
allow (third-person singular simple present allows, present participle allowing, simple past and past participle allowed)
(transitive) To grant, give, admit, accord, afford, or yield; to let one have.
(transitive) To acknowledge; to accept as true; to concede; to accede to an opinion.
(transitive) To grant (something) as a deduction or an addition; especially to abate or deduct.
(transitive) To grant license to; to permit; to consent to.
To not bar or obstruct.
(intransitive) To acknowledge or concede.
(transitive) To take into account by making an allowance.
(transitive) To render physically possible.
(transitive, obsolete) To praise; to approve of; hence, to sanction.
(obsolete) To sanction; to invest; to entrust.
(transitive, obsolete) To like; to be suited or pleased with.
Synonyms
• allot, assign, bestow, concede, admit, let, permit, suffer, tolerate
Source: Wiktionary
Al*low", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Allowed; p. pr. & vb. n. Allowing.] Etym: [OE. alouen, OF. alouer, aloer, aluer, F. allouer, fr. LL. allocare to admit as proved, to place, use; confused with OF. aloer, fr. L. allaudare to extol; ad + laudare to praise. See Local, and cf. Allocate, Laud.]
1. To praise; to approve of; hence, to sanction. [Obs. or Archaic] Ye allow the deeds of your fathers. Luke xi. 48. We commend his pains, condemn his pride, allow his life, approve his learning. Fuller.
2. To like; to be suited or pleased with. [Obs.] How allow you the model of these clothes Massinger.
3. To sanction; to invest; to intrust. [Obs.] Thou shalt be . . . allowed with absolute power. Shak.
4. To grant, give, admit, accord, afford, or yield; to let one have; as, to allow a servant his liberty; to allow a free passage; to allow one day for rest. He was allowed about three hundred pounds a year. Macaulay.
5. To own or acknowledge; to accept as true; to concede; to accede to an opinion; as, to allow a right; to allow a claim; to allow the truth of a proposition. I allow, with Mrs. Grundy and most moralists, that Miss Newcome's conduct . . . was highly reprehensible. Thackeray.
6. To grant (something) as a deduction or an addition; esp. to abate or deduct; as, to allow a sum for leakage.
7. To grant license to; to permit; to consent to; as, to allow a son to be absent.
Syn.
– To allot; assign; bestow; concede; admit; permit; suffer; tolerate. See Permit.
Al*low", v. i.
Definition: To admit; to concede; to make allowance or abatement. Allowing still for the different ways of making it. Addison. To allow of, to permit; to admit. Shak.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
4 May 2025
CRISP
(adjective) (of something seen or heard) clearly defined; “a sharp photographic image”; “the sharp crack of a twig”; “the crisp snap of dry leaves underfoot”
Coffee Trivia
