APPROPRIATIONS IN AID. In the terminology of British Government finance, the money received by Government departments, in the course of their work, for certain fees, miscel laneous services, rents, etc. These receipts are in many cases not paid into the Exchequer, but "appropriated in aid" of the ex penses of the departments which receive them, whence their name. When a Government department presents its estimate to the House of Commons, the appropriations in aid serve to diminish the sums demanded, and are accounted for in the figures given to Parliament.