What is "to draw lots"

Lot \Lot\ (l[o^]t), n. [AS. hlot; akin to hle['o]tan to cast lots, OS. hl[=o]t lot, D. lot, G. loos, OHG. l[=o]z, Icel. hlutr, Sw. lott, Dan. lod, Goth. hlauts. Cf. Allot, Lotto, Lottery.]

1. That which happens without human design or forethought; chance; accident; hazard; fortune; fate.

   But save my life, which lot before your foot doth lay.
   --Spenser.

2. Anything (as a die, pebble, ball, or slip of paper) used in determining a question by chance, or without man's choice or will; as, to cast or draw lots.

   The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.
   --Prov. xvi. 3

3. If we draw lots, he speeds.
   --Shak.

   3. The part, or fate, which falls to one, as it were, by chance, or without his planning.

   O visions ill foreseen! Each day's lot's Enough to bear.
   --Milton.

   He was but born to try The lot of man -- to suffer and to die.
   --Pope.

4. A separate portion; a number of things taken collectively; all objects sold in a single purchase transaction; as, a lot of stationery; -- colloquially, sometimes of people; as, a sorry lot; a bad lot.

   I, this winter, met with a very large lot of English heads, chiefly of the reign of James I.
   --Walpole.

5. A distinct portion or plot of land, usually smaller than a field; as, a building lot in a city.

   The defendants leased a house and lot in the city of New York.
   --Kent.

6. A large quantity or number; a great deal; as, to spend a lot of money; to waste a lot of time on line; lots of people think so. [Colloq.]

   He wrote to her . . . he might be detained in London by a lot of business.
   --W. Black.

7. A prize in a lottery. [Obs.]
   --Evelyn.

   To cast in one's lot with, to share the fortunes of.

   To cast lots, to use or throw a die, or some other instrument, by the unforeseen turn or position of which, an event is by previous agreement determined.

   To draw lots, to determine an event, or make a decision, by drawing one thing from a number whose marks are concealed from the drawer.

   To pay scot and lot, to pay taxes according to one's ability. See Scot.

draw \draw\ (dr[add]), v. t. [imp. Drew (dr[udd]); p. p. Drawn (dr[add]n); p. pr. & vb. n. Drawing.] [OE. dra[yogh]en, drahen, draien, drawen, AS. dragan; akin to Icel. & Sw. draga, Dan. drage to draw, carry, and prob. to OS. dragan to bear, carry, D. dragen, G. tragen, Goth. dragan; cf. Skr. dhraj to move along, glide; and perh. akin to Skr. dhar to hold, bear. [root]73. Cf. 2d Drag, Dray a cart, 1st Dredge.]

1. To cause to move continuously by force applied in advance of the thing moved; to pull along; to haul; to drag; to cause to follow.

   He cast him down to ground, and all along Drew him through dirt and mire without remorse.
   --Spenser.

   He hastened to draw the stranger into a private room.
   --Sir W. Scott.

   Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
   --James ii. 6.

   The arrow is now drawn to the head.
   --Atterbury.

2. To influence to move or tend toward one's self; to exercise an attracting force upon; to call towards itself; to attract; hence, to entice; to allure; to induce.

   The poet Did feign that Orpheus drew trees, stones, and floods.
   --Shak.

   All eyes you draw, and with the eyes the heart.
   --Dryden.

3. To cause to come out for one's use or benefit; to extract; to educe; to bring forth; as: (a) To bring or take out, or to let out, from some receptacle, as a stick or post from a hole, water from a cask or well, etc.

   The drew out the staves of the ark.
   --2 Chron. v. 9.

   Draw thee waters for the siege.
   --Nahum iii. 1

4. I opened the tumor by the point of a lancet without drawing one drop of blood. --Wiseman. (b) To pull from a sheath, as a sword. I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. --Ex. xv. 9. (c) To extract; to force out; to elicit; to derive. Spirits, by distillations, may be drawn out of vegetable juices, which shall flame and fume of themselves. --Cheyne. Until you had drawn oaths from him. --Shak. (d) To obtain from some cause or origin; to infer from evidence or reasons; to deduce from premises; to derive. We do not draw the moral lessons we might from history. --Burke. (e) To take or procure from a place of deposit; to call for and receive from a fund, or the like; as, to draw money from a bank. (f) To take from a box or wheel, as a lottery ticket; to receive from a lottery by the drawing out of the numbers for prizes or blanks; hence, to obtain by good fortune; to win; to gain; as, he drew a prize. (g) To select by the drawing of lots. Provided magistracies were filled by men freely chosen or drawn. --Freeman. 4. To remove the contents of; as:

   1. To drain by emptying; to suck dry.

      Sucking and drawing the breast dischargeth the milk as fast as it can generated.
      --Wiseman.

   2. To extract the bowels of; to eviscerate; as, to draw a fowl; to hang, draw, and quarter a criminal.

      In private draw your poultry, clean your tripe.
      --King.

5. To take into the lungs; to inhale; to inspire; hence, also, to utter or produce by an inhalation; to heave. ``Where I first drew air.''
   --Milton.

   Drew, or seemed to draw, a dying groan.
   --Dryden.

6. To extend in length; to lengthen; to protract; to stretch; to extend, as a mass of metal into wire.

   How long her face is drawn!
   --Shak.

   And the huge Offa's dike which he drew from the mouth of Wye to that of Dee.
   --J. R. Green.

7. To run, extend, or produce, as a line on any surface; hence, also, to form by marking; to make by an instrument of delineation; to produce, as a sketch, figure, or picture.

8. To represent by lines drawn; to form a sketch or a picture of; to represent by a picture; to delineate; hence, to represent by words; to depict; to describe.

   A flattering painter who made it his care To draw men as they ought to be, not as they are.
   --Goldsmith.

   Can I, untouched, the fair one's passions move, Or thou draw beauty and not feel its power?
   --Prior.

9. To write in due form; to prepare a draught of; as, to draw a memorial, a deed, or bill of exchange.

   Clerk, draw a deed of gift.
   --Shak.

10. To require (so great a depth, as of water) for floating; -- said of a vessel; to sink so deep in (water); as, a ship draws ten feet of water.

11. To withdraw. [Obs.]
    --Chaucer.

    Go wash thy face, and draw the action.
    --Shak.

12. To trace by scent; to track; -- a hunting term.

13. (Games)

    1. (Cricket) To play (a short-length ball directed at the leg stump) with an inclined bat so as to deflect the ball between the legs and the wicket.

    2. (Golf) To hit (the ball) with the toe of the club so that it is deflected toward the left.

    3. (Billiards) To strike (the cue ball) below the center so as to give it a backward rotation which causes it to take a backward direction on striking another ball.

    4. (Curling) To throw up (the stone) gently.

14. To leave (a contest) undecided; as, the battle or game was drawn. ``Win, lose, or draw.'' Note: Draw, in most of its uses, retains some shade of its original sense, to pull, to move forward by the application of force in advance, or to extend in length, and usually expresses an action as gradual or continuous, and leisurely. We pour liquid quickly, but we draw it in a continued stream. We force compliance by threats, but we draw it by gradual prevalence. We may write a letter with haste, but we draw a bill with slow caution and regard to a precise form. We draw a bar of metal by continued beating. To draw a bow, to bend the bow by drawing the string for discharging the arrow. To draw a cover, to clear a cover of the game it contains. To draw a curtain, to cause a curtain to slide or move, either closing or unclosing. ``Night draws the curtain, which the sun withdraws.'' --Herbert. To draw a line, to fix a limit or boundary. To draw back, to receive back, as duties on goods for exportation. To draw breath, to breathe. --Shak. To draw cuts or To draw lots. See under Cut, n. To draw in.

    1. To bring or pull in; to collect.

    2. To entice; to inveigle. To draw interest, to produce or gain interest. To draw off, to withdraw; to abstract. --Addison. To draw on, to bring on; to occasion; to cause. ``War which either his negligence drew on, or his practices procured.'' --Hayward. To draw (one) out, to elicit cunningly the thoughts and feelings of another. To draw out, to stretch or extend; to protract; to spread out. -- ``Wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?'' --Ps. lxxxv. 5. ``Linked sweetness long drawn out.'' --Milton. To draw over, to cause to come over, to induce to leave one part or side for the opposite one. To draw the longbow, to exaggerate; to tell preposterous tales. To draw (one) to or To draw (one) on to (something), to move, to incite, to induce. ``How many actions most ridiculous hast thou been drawn to by thy fantasy?'' --Shak. To draw up.

       1. To compose in due form; to draught; to form in writing.

       2. To arrange in order, as a body of troops; to array. ``Drawn up in battle to receive the charge.''
          --Dryden.

          Syn: To Draw, Drag.

          Usage: Draw differs from drag in this, that drag implies a natural inaptitude for drawing, or positive resistance; it is applied to things pulled or hauled along the ground, or moved with toil or difficulty. Draw is applied to all bodies moved by force in advance, whatever may be the degree of force; it commonly implies that some kind of aptitude or provision exists for drawing. Draw is the more general or generic term, and drag the more specific. We say, the horses draw a coach or wagon, but they drag it through mire; yet draw is properly used in both cases.