What Does It Mean To Draw Lots

The entire process is called "drawing lots," but don't call the individual slips of paper "lots." Just ask, "Did you get one?" or "Do you have a topic?" or something like that.

dojibear

I mean, if a "lot" is an object (e.g. a straw) as you say, why does "draw a lot" sound like "make a lot of drawings"

The word "lot" has several meanings. For a detailed history of those meanings, look here: lot | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

Meanings, from oldest to newest (800 years):
1. a chit in a by-chance drawing
2. one person's share or portion
3. a marked area of land
4. a large amount
5. do many times.

Meaning 5 is the meaning in "to draw a lot".
Meaning 4 is in "to make a lot of drawings"
Meaning 3 is "I bought a lot and will build a house on it."
Meaning 2 is "That is my lot in life: to be a failure."
Meaning 1 is "to cast lots (or draw lots) to see who wins"

Last edited: Oct 22, 2019

bennymix

"Draw lots" is just the title of the activity/concept. It doesn't name the parts. I usually don't even call it that. I call it drawing straws. You can use actual straws (in this case, the long thin stalk of a plant), or toothpicks or anything long and thin whose full lengths can be disguised. You could use uncooked spaghetti. I guess you can even use different colored objects if the person can't see them when picking, such as out of a closed bag.

Getting the "short straw" is the thing to avoid. It's never called "a lot". It's called whatever it is that it is. Or, more simply, "Did you draw yet?"/"Have you drawn yet?"

From WR:
draw straws, to decide by lottery using straws or strawlike items of different lengths, usually with the short straw or straws determining the person chosen or the loser.

From W-R, for 'lot', definition 1.

[countable] one of a set of objects, as straws or pebbles, drawn or thrown from a container to decide a question or choice by chance.

"lots" is not any mysterious term connected to an activity but having no physical reference. Though 'lot' is sometimes used metaphorically, in the case at hand it's a physical object.

Cambridge:
draw lots

to make a decision by choosing from a set of objects such as pieces of paper or sticks that are all the same except for one:
===
===
The "objects" are the lots. A single item in the set is one lot.
---
Doji made the point in post #10.

Meanings, from oldest to newest (800 years):
1. a chit in a by-chance drawing
[...]
Meaning 1 is "to cast lots (or draw lots) to see who wins"

Last edited: Oct 22, 2019

bennymix

Exactly, it's a physical object. That's what you're drawing/choosing/selecting. You can describe that object. You can't describe a "lot" as a physical object.

"Tell me what a lot looks like."
"Well, it's about four inches long and half an inch wide and it's got a rough texture and sometimes it's green but not always."

If you're drawing straws that's what you're drawing.
"Did you draw a straw yet?"

That's a physical object you can grasp and draw.

Items that have function can be described in two ways. Take a doorstop; it keeps a door open.

That could be an iron cylinder 4 inches in diameter. Or it could be a cement statue 6 inches tall.
These are items heavy enough to 'stop' the door.

Kentix said:
"Tell me what a lot looks like."
"Well, it's about four inches long and half an inch wide and it's got a rough texture and sometimes it's green but not always." (down pointing thumb)

Not correct. We can certainly ask "What does your doorstop look like?" "It's a 6 in granite figure of a dog."
It would be highly absurd to say, "So your item is a granite figure, NOT a doorstop."

If someone draws a lot, along with others drawing their lots, the process "drawing lots" is occurring. If I'm that someone, I then look at my lot and show it to others. Of course it is--let's say-- a slip of paper. I look at a slip of paper, a chit, as some dictionaries say. There is no contradiction, as above with the doorstop which is also a granite figure.

Last edited: Oct 22, 2019