earmark

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun An identifying feature or characteristic.
• noun An identifying mark on the ear of a domestic animal.
• noun An item or provision in a legislative bill that allots money for a project or institution in a specific locale, usually written or sponsored by a representative from that area.
• transitive verb To reserve or designate for a particular purpose. synonym: allocate.
• transitive verb To mark the ear of (a domestic animal) for identification.
• transitive verb To specify or allocate (funds) to be spent in a legislative earmark.

from The Century Dictionary.

• To mark, as sheep, by cropping or slitting the ear.
• noun A mark on the ear by which a sheep or other domestic animal is known.
• noun Figuratively, in law, any mark for identification, as a privy mark made on a coin.
• noun Any characteristic or distinguishing mark, natural or other, by which the ownership or relation of something is known.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun A mark on the ear of sheep, oxen, dogs, etc., as by cropping or slitting.
• noun A mark for identification; a distinguishing mark.
• transitive verb To mark, as sheep, by cropping or slitting the ear.
• transitive verb To designate or reserve for a specific purpose.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• verb transitive To mark (as of sheep) by slitting the ear.
• verb transitive, by extension To specify or set aside for a particular purpose.
• noun A mark or deformation of the ear of an animal intended to indicate ownership.
• noun US, politics The designation of specific projects in appropriations of funding for general programs.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun identification mark on the ear of a domestic animal
• verb give or assign a resource to a particular person or cause
• noun a distinctive characteristic or attribute