different between allotment vs variance

English

Etymology

From Old French alotement (modern French allotement).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /??l?t.m?nt/

Noun

allotment (countable and uncountable, plural allotments)

1. The act of allotting.
   • 2007, Ruth Chambers, Kay Mohanna, David Wall, How to Succeed as a Leader

     You will achieve more in designated sessions of quiet uninterrupted periods than in a longer allotment of time broken up by various activities.

   • 1873, Henry Sumner Maine, The early history of the property of married women

     The allotment of particular names to special ideas which gradually disengage themselves from a general idea is apparently determined by accident.

2. Something allotted; a share, part, or portion granted or distributed
   • 1906, Thomas William Shore, Origin of the Anglo-Saxon Race Chapter 9

     Similar customs prevailed in a part of Friesland, the most notable of which was the ‘Jus Theelacticum,’ or custom of the Theel lands, doles, or allottable lands in East Friesland, not far from the mouth of the Ems. There an inherited allotment was indivisible; on the death of the father it passed intact to the youngest son, and on his death without issue it fell into the possession of the whole community

3. (law) The allowance of a specific amount of money or other credit of a particular thing to a particular person.
   • 2013, Maxine Holsinger, The Life of Maxine Holsinger

     Maynard used to help before he got sick, but there was no income except what I brought in my allotment.

4. (Britain) A plot of land rented from the council for growing fruit and vegetables.
   • 2015, Cathy Bramley, Ivy Lane

     The fallout of this unexpected turn of events was that it was Saturday morning, the first day of the Easter holidays, before the thought of my allotment even entered my head. Goodness only knew how big my carrots were going to be by the time I got round there!

Translations

English

Alternative forms

• variaunce (obsolete)
• var (abbreviation)

Etymology

From Middle English variance, variaunce, from Old French variance or directly from Anglo-Latin variaunce, veriaunce, wariaunce; all from Latin variantia.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?v???i.?ns/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?væ?i.?nts/ (Mary–marry–merry distinction)
• (US) IPA^(key): /?v??i.?nts/ (Mary–marry–merry merger)

Noun

variance (countable and uncountable, plural variances)

1. The act of varying or the state of being variable.
2. A difference between what is expected and what is observed; deviation.
3. The state of differing or being in conflict.
4. An official permit to do something that is ordinarily forbidden by regulations.
5. (law) A discrepancy between two legal documents.
6. (law) A departure from a cause of action originally in a complaint.
8. (statistics) The second central moment in probability.
9. (physics, chemistry, biology) The number of degrees of freedom in a system.
10. (computing, programming) Covariance and contravariance generally.

    Depending on the variance of the type constructor, the subtyping relation of the simple types may be either preserved, reversed, or ignored for the respective complex types.

Derived terms

Translations

French

Etymology

From Latin variantia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /va.?j??s/
• Rhymes: -??s

Noun

variance f (plural variances)

1. variance

Further reading

• “variance” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).