Apportion, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Apportioned; p. pr. & vb. n. Apportioning.]
Etymology: [OF. apportionner, LL. apportionare, fr. L. ad + portio. See Portion.]
To divide and assign in just proportion; to divide and distribute proportionally; to portion out; to allot; as, to apportion undivided rights; to apportion time among various employments.
Shades of meaning
To allot or assign may be to make an arbitrary division; the same is true of distribute or divide. That which is apportioned is given by some fixed rule, which is meant to be uniform and fair; as, representatives are apportioned among the States according to population. To dispense is to give out freely; as, the sun dispenses light and heat. A thing is appropriated to or for a specific purpose (to which it thus becomes proper, in the original sense of being its own); money appropriated by Congress for one purpose can not be expended for any other. One may apportion what he only holds in trust; he shares what is his own. Compare allot.
Prepositions
Apportion to each a fair amount; apportion the property among the heirs, between two claimants; apportion according to numbers, etc.