| 释义 |
allotment|əˈlɒtmənt|
[a. Fr. allotement, formerly al-, f. aloter: see allot and -ment.]
1. a. The action of allotting or assigning as a share; apportionment; appointment.
1574in Heath Grocers' Comp. (1869) 11 That this and the other Companies should, after the rateable and proportionable allotment, provide their shares thereof. 1774Bryant Mythol. I. Pref. 6 Colonies went abroad without any regard to their original place of allotment. 1790Cowper Odyss. iii. 10 To each they made Allotment equal of nine sable bulls. 1882Globe 24 July 8/3, 10s. per share payable on Application; 10s. per share on Allotment.
b. A deed of allotment; an assigning document.
1772Hist. Rochester 95 The only allotment to be met with is to the dean and one prebendary.
c. spec. The payment of part of a seaman's wages to a nominated person; also, the amount so paid; esp. attrib. in allotment note, a note authorizing such an allotment.
1867Smyth Sailor's Word-Bk. 32 Allotment, a part of the pay apportioned monthly to the wives, children, mothers, or destitute fathers of the warrant and petty officers, seamen, and marines. 1894Act 57 & 58 Vict. c. 60 §141 (2), The seaman may require that a stipulation be inserted in the agreement for the allotment by means of an allotment note, of any part (not exceeding one half) of his wages in favour either of a near relative or of a savings bank. 1953‘R. Gordon’ Doctor at Sea vi. 82 Long voyages and young wives don't mix. You leave the allotment of your pay and if you don't get a letter at every port you wonder what's up.
2. The destiny allotted to any one; lot in life, fate.
1674Govt. Tongue x. §6 (1684) 157 Our behavior towards God, whose allotments we dispute. 1754Fielding Jon. Wild ii. xii. Wks. 1784 IV. 195 No man is born into the world without his particular allotment. 1828Carlyle Misc. (1857) I. 122 The stinted allotments of earthly life are as a mockery to him.
3. A share or portion allotted to one.
1629Coke 1st Pt. Inst. 167 a, In this case euery one of them ought to stand to their chance and allotment. 1768Blackstone Comm. II. 83 The elder sons..migrate from their father with a certain allotment of cattle. 1850Blackie æschyl. II. 27 He called his gods together, and assigned To each his fair allotment.
4. esp. A portion of land assigned to a special person, or appropriated to a particular purpose. spec. A small portion of land let out for cultivation (see quot. 1959).
1674Scheffer Lapland vi. 15 The Finlanders..have a certain division or allotment called Lappio. a1745Broome (J.) A vineyard, and an allotment for olives and herbs. 1768Blackstone Comm. II. 45 Large districts or parcels of land were..dealt out again in smaller parcels or allotments to the inferior officers. 1845Penny Cycl. Supp. I. 88 The most convenient mode of giving [country labourers] gardens is to divide a field near the village into small allotments..The bishop of Bath and Wells commenced the letting of allotments in 1807, but it is only since 1830 that its adoption has become common. 1917Times 14 Aug. 3/3 Holders of municipal allotments..claim for loss by malicious damage, the hearts of 700 cabbages having been cut out. 1922Encycl. Brit. XXX. 81/2 The powers conferred upon the [Food Production] Department by D.O.R.A., which were delegated to town and urban district councils, enabled them to take possession of any unoccupied land for the purpose of letting it as allotments. 1944Amer. Speech XIX. 294 In Britain the playing of tennis and golf has been succeeded by the weekend pastime of working in one's ‘allotment’, which is a kind of ‘Victory Garden’. 1959Chambers's Encycl. I. 276/2 Allotment, a small plot of land let for cultivation, sometimes by private landowners but usually by local authorities for individuals or allotment associations. They were originally provided for country labourers by their overlords, but now are found in and near towns.
†5. Comm. The division of a ship's cargo into equal portions, the particular portion falling to each purchaser being decided by lot; also in pl. Descriptions of the divided portions. Obs.
1703Lond. Gaz. mmmdccclxxxii/4 Inventories of the Ships, and Allotments of the Goods may be seen at the said Hall. 1705Ibid. mmmmcxxxv/3 Printed Copies of the Allotments of the said Goods. 1751Chambers Cycl., Allotment of goods, is when a ship's cargo is divided into several parts, bought by divers persons, etc.
6. Comb. or attrib., chiefly in sense 4: allotment letter, also letter of allotment (see quot. 1882 and cf. sense 1 a, quot. 1882). allotment system, the division of land into small plots to be held for cultivation by the poorer classes at a small rent; hence allotment-garden, allotment-gardening, allotment-holder, etc.
1863Dickens Uncomm. Trav. in All the Year Round 1 Aug. 542/1 Certain allotment-gardens by the road⁓side. 1876Fawcett Pol. Econ. ii. viii. 238 The granting of allotment-gardens would do much for the labourers. 1959Chambers's Encycl. I. 276/2 There is in Britain a legal distinction between allotments and allotment gardens (Allotments Act, 1922) important as regards determination of tenancy and compensation.
1944Auden For Time Being (1945) 113 Allotment gardening has become popular.
1848J. S. Mill Pol. Econ. I. ix. §4. 1. 180 The labour which the peasant, or even the allotment holder, gladly undergoes. 1920Allotment holder [see next].
1882R. Bithell Counting-House Dict. 169 Letter of Allotment, a letter issued in answer to a letter of application for a portion of a public loan, or for shares in a commercial undertaking. 1909A. E. Davies Money, Stock & Share Markets xii. 98 Once the allotment letter has been posted it is impossible for the applicant to withdraw his application. 1955Times 15 July 13/1 The allotment letters were being posted by the Bank of England last evening.
1845Penny Cycl. Supp. I. 90 The allotment system, when limited to the giving a labourer a small plot of garden-ground, presents many advantages. 1868Peard Water-farm. ii. 13 A piece of ground parcelled out under the allotment system. |