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单词 lot
释义

lotn.

Brit. /lɒt/, U.S. /lɑt/
Forms: Old English hlod (Northumbrian), Old English hlodd (Northumbrian), Old English hlodt- (Northumbrian, inflected form), Old English hlot, Old English hlott (chiefly Northumbrian), early Middle English leoten (south-west midlands, plural), early Middle English loht, Middle English loote, Middle English lootte, Middle English loth, Middle English–1600s lote, Middle English–1500s loot, Middle English–1600s lotte, Middle English–1700s lott, Middle English– lot, late Middle English logh (transmission error); Middle Eng. Dict. (at cited word) also records a form Middle English holte (transmission error).
Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.
Etymology: Cognate (with variation in stem class) with Old Frisian hlot , lot (also hlōt , lōt ), Middle Dutch lot (Dutch lot ), Old High German luz , Old Icelandic hlutr , hlotr , Old Swedish luter , loter (Swedish lott ), Old Danish lot (Danish lod ) < an ablaut variant (zero-grade) of the same Germanic base as Old English hlēotan to cast lots, to obtain, especially by lot, Old Saxon hliotan to obtain, Old High German liozan to cast lots (Middle High German liezen ), Old Icelandic hljóta to obtain by lot; further etymology unknown. Compare also (with different ablaut grade) Old English hlīet (with i-mutation), Middle Dutch loet , Old Saxon hlōt (Middle Low German lōt , also lot ), Old High German hlōz , lōz (Middle High German lōz , German Los ), Gothic hlauts , and further (with different gender) Old Icelandic hlaut blood of sacrifice. Compare ( < a West Germanic language, probably Old Dutch) Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French, French lot lot which is cast (c1140), fate (c1245), share, portion (14th cent.), assemblage of goods for sale (1410), which may in turn have influenced and reinforced some of the senses of the English word. Compare post-classical Latin lottum , lotta , lottus share, portion (frequently from 12th cent. in British sources). Compare also ( < French) Spanish lote (19th cent.), Portuguese lote lot (1459), and Italian lotto (see lotto n.1). The Germanic base and its reflexes. There is some uncertainty over the history of some of the surviving forms in the Germanic languages. In the earliest forms, variation in vowel length appears to reflect differences in the ablaut grade of the underlying base; in some of the later (medieval) languages, however, it may also reflect influence of these languages on each other. In addition, the zero-grade base formed nouns with two different stem classes (reflected in Old English by hlot and hlyte respectively: see note on Old English forms), but in some languages it is unclear which stem class the surviving forms originally belonged to. Inflection and related forms in Old English. In Old English a neuter a -stem; the prefixed form gehlot casting of lots, share, portion (compare y- prefix) is also attested. Compare also the cognate forms represented by the masculine i -stem hlyte share, portion, and the usually masculine i -stem (with different ablaut grade) hlīet (non-West Saxon hlēt ) lot, share, portion, casting of lots, chance, fortune, destiny. Notes on variant forms. The early Middle English plural form leoten (from the Caligula manuscript of Laȝamon's Brut) either shows influence from early Middle English ilēoten (see lot v.) or a reverse spelling of eo for either e (reflecting Old English hlēt , non-West Saxon variant of the related Old English noun hlīet ) or o . Notes on individual senses. With to cast (also throw, warp, etc.) lots at sense 1a and Phrases 2a(a) compare Middle High German lōz werfen , Old French jeter au los , jeter los , classical Latin sortēs cōnicere , ancient Greek κλῆρον βάλλειν , all using verbs with the sense ‘to throw’. In to send lots at sense 1a apparently after classical Latin sortēs mittere. With to draw lots (also †lot) at Phrases 2a(b) compare Middle French tirer au lot (1482; compare French tirer au sort ). With use with reference to the casting of lots for divination (see sense 2a) compare slightly earlier use of prefixed Old English gehlot and the related noun hlīet in this sense. Divination by means of casting lots is apparently attested in Anglo-Saxon England as a current practice, although the details are unclear; it had already been described as a Germanic custom by Tacitus ( Germania 10). With great lot at sense 4a (with reference to lotteries) compare Dutch het groote lot (15th cent. in Middle Dutch), and also French le gros lot (1690). With use with reference to land (see senses 5a, 10a), compare early attestation in place names and field names, as La Lote , Surrey (1228), Yuelotesheuede , Lancashire (1228) and also (rare) Old English gehlotland allotted land, inheritance. The use denoting a kind of tax or duty, especially in municipal contexts and in collocation with scot n.2 (see sense 7a), is attested earliest in Latin contexts. Compare post-classical Latin lottum , etc., attested in this sense in British sources from 1138 onwards; the sense is also attested in Anglo-Norman (1281 or earlier), apparently after English. With use with reference to lead mining (see sense 7b and also lot-lead n. at Compounds 2) compare the following examples, in which the word denotes a royal impost of every thirteenth pot of metal taken from the royal lead mines of the High Peak, Derbyshire (although it is unclear whether these should be interpreted as showing the Middle English or the Anglo-Norman word):1281 in H. Spelman Glossarium (1664) 371/2 Faciendo mineram plumbi, unde Rex solebat percipere le Lot mineris, id est tertium decimum vas.1288 in H. Spelman Glossarium (1664) 371/2 Dominus Rex habebit pro dominio suo decimum discum qui dicitur le Loth. With more general use denoting a part or portion of something (see sense 8) compare the rare Old English adverb hwōnhlotum in a small degree, slightly, a little, lit. ‘in small portions’ (compare whon n. and adj.). With the phrase to have lot and cavel at Phrases 4a, usually in the context of early Scots law (compare cavel n.1 2), compare post-classical Latin habere lot et cavill, habere lot neque cavill (from 13th cent. or earlier in a legal context in Scottish sources), apparently originally with reference to the assignment of shares by lot. Compare Anglo-Norman faire loz e chavles (c1139 in isolated use in Gaimar with reference to the division of land).
I. An object used in methods of random selection, and related senses.
1.
a. Any of a set of objects (such as pieces of wood or paper) used in methods of random selection to secure a decision in resolving disputes, dividing goods, choosing people for an office or duty, etc., by an appeal to chance or a divine agency believed to be involved in the results of chance. Frequently as the object of verbs denoting the method used, as cast, draw, throw, †send, †warp, etc. Now chiefly historical except in to cast lots at Phrases 2a(a), to draw lots at Phrases 2a(b).Methods of selection by lot have varied by period and culture: typically, lots bearing names or other distinctive marks are put in a receptacle, one or more lot then being selected at random; in Ancient Greece, the receptacle was a helmet which was shaken, the winning lot being the one which fell out first; in Ancient Rome, lots were typically thrown into an urn filled with water; in Scandinavia, they were placed in the folds of a garment and the winning lot was drawn by an impartial party.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > free will > choice or choosing > types of choice > [noun] > choosing by casting lots > object used in
lotOE
cuta1340
sortc1400
OE St. Andrew (Corpus Cambr.) in F. G. Cassidy & R. N. Ringler Bright's Old Eng. Gram. & Reader (1971) 205 Hie sendon hlot him betweonum, hwider hyra gehwylc faran scolde to læranne.
OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxvii. 35 Hig todældon hys reaf & wurpon hlot [L. sortem mittentes] þærofer.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 6915 Vmbe fiftene ȝer þat folc his isomned..& heore loten [c1300 Otho lotes] werpeð. vppen þan þe hit faleð he scal uaren of londe.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid vi. i. 46 The deidlie vrne.., Out of the quhilk the lottis warrin draw.
1558 P. Morwen tr. A. ben David ibn Daud Hist. Latter Tymes Iewes Commune Weale f. cxviii Then Ioseph began to make lottes, who should be thod [sic] man: and it light vpon Iehoiada a prieste.
1581 A. Hall tr. Homer 10 Bks. Iliades iii. 55 Hector from his helmet then his countnance hauing wried,..the lots did turne.
?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads vii. 153 Each markt his lot, and cast it in, to Agamemnons caske.
1632 R. Winterton tr. J. Drexel Considerations Eternitie iii. 49 Square pieces of wood or woodden Lots scattered amongst the people, which had for their inscriptions, whole houses..and many times jewels a great number: To whosoevers lot fell any one of these, he presently received according to the inscription.
1647 Bp. J. Taylor Θεολογία Ἐκλεκτική xi. 171 The lot was throwne, and God made to be Judge.
1659 H. Hammond Paraphr. & Annot. Psalms (iv. 24 annot.) 344 Little lots are thrown into the silver pitcher about the bignesse of a bean, with inscriptions on them..and the Priest drawes out one in one hand.
1736 Universal Hist. I. i. vii. 619 There was an urn brought unto the high-priest, into which he threw two wooden lots, upon one of which were written the words, for the Lord; and on the other, for Azazel.
a1851 J. Baillie Ethwald iii. iv, in Wks. (1851) 150 Ethw. (giving a soldier a helmet filled with lots) Here, take the lots and deal them fairly round.
1888 Archæol. Rev. Mar. 7 Specimens of the sticks or other lots cut with patterns, which were used in the re-distribution of the communal plots of land.
1904 J. L. Hurlbut Story of Bible 653 At the foot of the cross the soldiers threw lots for the garment of Christ.
1971 Life 23 Apr. 65/3 The lots were five numbered cards, sealed in envelopes and held in the hat of the museum's lawyer... David Rockefeller drew No. 1, which allowed him to pick first.
2009 Hermes 137 136 The lots in the helmet were marked with the names of the gates.
b. The action or an act of casting or drawing lots, or using any equivalent process, as a method of making a decision; sortition. Also in extended use. Now historical and rare except in fixed phrases; see by lot at Phrases 3a, to put (something) to the lot at Phrases 7.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > free will > choice or choosing > types of choice > [noun] > choosing by casting lots
lotOE
cutc1325
sortc1386
sortition1597
sortilege1600
ballotinga1618
sortilegy1643
ballota1680
sortilegium1858
OE Ælfric Old Eng. Hexateuch: Josh. (Claud.) i. 6 Soðlice ðu dælst mid hlote ðisum folce ðæt land ðe ic behet ðinum fæderum.
OE Lambeth Psalter lxxvii. 54 Sorte diuisit eis terram in funiculo distributionis : mid hlote & he todælde heom land on rapincle todales.
c1350 Psalter (BL Add. 17376) in K. D. Bülbring Earliest Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter (1891) lxxvii. 60 (MED) In lott he parted to hem þe londe in a corde of distribucioun.
a1425 in R. H. Bowers Three Middle Eng. Relig. Poems (1963) 25 (MED) Than with lot and holy bede, Thai toke another in Judas stede.
a1475 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Godstow Nunnery (1906) ii. 396 (MED) j acre of mede in the bisshoppis-heyte as the lotte wolle yeve.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. I. vii. 95 They were of the Countrie of Germany, and put out of their Countrie by a maner & sort of a Lot, which is sundrie times vsed in the sayde lande.
1649 J. Milton Εικονοκλαστης xv. 141 But that controversy, divine lot hath ended.
a1658 J. Durham Pract. Expos. X. Commandements (1675) iii. 167 A Lot or Lotting is, The Committing, of the Decision of some thing, in an Immediate way to Divine Providence, without the Intervening Causalties, or Influence, of any Second Cause, to sway in that Decision.
1884 tr. H. Lotze Logic 400 The only remaining possibility is either the lot, or the decision of some external will.
1913 Amer. Polit. Sci. Rev. 7 51 Rotation in office is based upon the same principle as the use of the lot in Athens, for it purports to give each man an equal chance at office.
2005 S. Forsdyke Exile, Ostracism, & Democracy iii. 97 Solon's main purpose in using the lot to choose among elected candidates may have been to prevent violent conflict between rival candidates for office.
†c. The choice or decision resulting from a drawing or casting of lots. Obsolete and rare except in the lot falls on—— at Phrases 1a.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > free will > choice or choosing > types of choice > [noun] > choosing by casting lots > choice resulting from
lotOE
sort1382
OE Hymns (Durh. B.iii.32) cxiv. 1, in I. Milfull Hymns of Anglo-Saxon Church (1996) 385 Mathia iuste, duodeno solio residens sorte : eala o þu rihtwise on twelftum cynesetle sittende mid hlote.
c1250 in Englische Studien (1935) 70 243 (MED) Mathias heuer was goid, & iudas was unhende; On is stude apostle was alse crist loot sende.
a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 4019 (MED) On alle manere fyl so here lot Eutycyus þey made here abbot.
1544 A. Cope Hist. Anniball & Scipio xi. f. 15 He caused lottes for them to be caste, and accordyng to the lotte losed a great number of them.
1583 R. Greene Mamillia f. 20v The Poets and Paynters fayned not fortune blinde, without good cause, and great reason: for as her gifts are vncertaine: so the lotte is doubtfull, and the chaunce vnlooke for, most often happeneth.
2.
a. Any of a set of objects used in a method of random selection as a means of prophecy or divination; an act of divination using such objects. Usually in plural. Now chiefly historical. Virgilian lots, Biblical lots, etc.: passages from the specified text selected at random as a means of divination or seeking guidance; divination by such passages; cf. sortes Virgilianae at sortes n., sortes Biblicae at sortes n., sortes Homericae at sortes n.In quot. lOE apparently by substitution for obsolescent Old English blōt sacrifice (see flamen n.).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > casting of lots, sortilege > [noun] > object used in
lotlOE
cavela1400
rune1829
lOE Laws of Cnut (Harl.) ii. v. §1. 312 Hæðenscype byð, þæt man..wiccancræft lufige oððe morðweorc gefremme on ænige wysan, oððe on hlotæ [OE Nero blote; L. (Quadripartitus) sorte] oððe fyrhte.
a1450 (c1410) Dives & Pauper (Douce 295) i. xxxviii. f. 37v To vsyn lottys with outyn nede & only for vanyte or for dyuynacion settyng feith þerin to wetyn þerby what shal fallen, is vnlefful & repreuyd of god.
1540 R. Taverner tr. Erasmus Catonis Disticha Moralia ii. f. xij Searche not by lottes, sorcery, wytchecraft or other wicked craftes, what shall become of thee.
1619 T. Gataker Of Nature & Use Lots v. 115 We make it not an ordinarie but an extraordinarie, not a meere diuisory but a diuinatory Lot, a Lot for diuination, not a Lot onely for diuision.
1649 tr. Alcoran 63 Consult not with Southsayers or Lots, it is a great sin.
1652 J. Gaule Πυς-μαντια xxvii. 321 Alexander Severus..making (as boyes used) Uirgilian lots; light upon certain verses that seemed to portend or praesignifie the Romane Empire to him.
1700 P. Danet Compl. Dict. Greek & Rom. Antiq. at Sortes The Lacedæmonians went one Day to consult the Lots of Dodona concerning some War they were engaged in.
1779 S. Johnson Cowley in Pref. Wks. Eng. Poets I. 17 I cannot but suspect Cowley of having consulted on this great occasion the Virgilian lots.
a1837 Encycl. Metrop. (1845) XXIV. 737/1 Another form of the Biblical lots is to go to a place of worship, and take as an omen the first passage of Scripture read by the minister, or the text from which he preaches.
1845 G. H. Smith tr. J. Michelet Hist. France I. ii. i. 86/1 He sent to St. Martin de Tours to consult the lots; and they were favorable to him.
1928 Classical Weekly 30 Apr. 186/1 A third trial of the lots was made by Claudius in an attempt to learn what the future had in store for his posterity.
1989 R. P. Werbner Ritual Passage, Sacred Journey i. 38 In the course of his interpretation of the first fall from the bag, the diviner usually points out each lot by name.
2010 M. Lewis in A. G. Reddie Black Theol., Slavery, & Contemp. Christianity xii. 205 Concepts such as..foretelling the future by using lots or a similar system.
†b. A curse, a spell. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > enchantment or casting spells > [noun] > spell
galderOE
lede-runec1000
sigalderc1000
craftOE
lede spelc1275
charma1300
conjurisonc1380
conjurationa1398
incantation1412
saunter1562
blessing1572
fascination1572
spell1579
lot1625
cantation1656
cantion1656
take1678
jynx1693
cantrip1719
pishogue1829
brujería1838
paternoster1880
goofer1887
runea1935
1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 47 There is no other Cure of Enuy, but the cure of Witchcraft: And that is, to remoue the Lot (as they call it) & to lay it vpon another.
3.
a. Any of a set of objects, such as dice, used in games of chance. Usually in plural. Now chiefly historical.
ΚΠ
1567 G. Turberville tr. G. B. Spagnoli Eglogs i. f. 2 Palester playes, and casting lots [L. sortiri] with finger I ne wayd: Nor former games that pleasant were ere I this grief assayd.
?1577 J. Northbrooke Spiritus est Vicarius Christi: Treat. Dicing 107 Whosoeuer vseth this chaunce of lottes in ydle and trifling things, taketh the name and prouidence of God in vaine.
1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy ii. ii. iv. 346 Many too nicely take exceptions at Cards, Tables, and Dice, and such lusorious lots.
1792 Remarks Proc. Soc. ‘Friends of People’ (end matter) (advt.) The above interesting Work treats of..Tennis, Dice, &c. Game of Lots, Inhumanity of Gaming [etc.].
1879 Fortn. Rev. 1 May 744 The game of pachisi has great vogue in Asia, extending into the far East, where it is played with flat tamarind-seeds as lots.
1913 W. S. Walsh Handy Bk. Curious Information 78 Backgammon, the European variety of a group of games where the throws of dice or lots are turned to account by the moving of pieces on a board.
2002 S. Wilkins Sports & Games Medieval Cultures 203 Tab, this Egyptian game of lots, or rods, was prohibited to Moslems but popular throughout the Arab world from Persia to North Africa.
b. In plural. Any of various games played with dice or similar objects; a game of chance. Also as the name of various games. Now historical and rare.In quot. 1579 referring to a game of strategy played with counters or gaming pieces.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > [noun]
lots?1577
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > dice-playing > [noun] > other dice games
rafflec1405
passagec1425
treygobet1426
mumchance1528
trey-trip1564
lots?1577
novum?1577
fox-mine-host1622
in and in1630
merry main1664
snake1688
pass-dice1753
chicken hazard1781
Shaking in the Shallow1795
sequin hazard1825
chuck-a-luck1836
Newmarket1837
chicken1849
poker dice1870
under and over1890
sweat1894
crown and anchor1902
Murrumbidgee1917
beetle1936
liar dice1946
Yahtzee1957
?1577 J. Northbrooke Spiritus est Vicarius Christi: Treat. Dicing 99 He speaketh of the game that was played for our Sauiour Christes garment, and plainly declareth that it was at lottes (that is at Dice).
1579 T. Twyne tr. Petrarch Phisicke against Fortune i. xxvi. 35 I delight moreover to play at Lottes [L. calculis]. Reason. O chyldishe desyre..for olde doating men to stande gaping ouer a payre of tables, and a fewe rouling peeces of wood, by stealth robbing or falling in.
1646 P. Mews Ex-ale-tation of Ale 10 The Picts and the Scots for Ale were at lots, so high was the skill and so kept under seale.
1895 K. Uchimura How I became Christian 16 O... played ‘lots’ with us... ‘Lots’ was our favorite play in which good and bad lucks were distributed in chance manners among the players.
2007 S. W. Bauer Hist. Anc. World xlii. 292 He made idols..and played lots with them. When he won, he mocked the idols as lousy gamblers.
4.
a. A lottery ticket; (also) a prize won in a lottery. Also in figurative contexts. Now historical. great lot (also chief lot): the highest prize. †it is lots to blanks: it is certain, it is highly likely; cf. blank n. 4. (In early British state lotteries, all tickets corresponded to prizes, and there were no blanks; cf. lottery n. 1a.)
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > lottery or raffle > [noun] > prize
lot1567
prize1567
welcome1567
lotterya1616
benefit1694
tern1856
rollover1981
1567 Proclam. Very Rich Lotterie Generall Whosoever hauing put in Thirtie Lottes vnder one deuise or poesie, within the sayd three Moneths, shal winne the last Lot of all, (if before that Lot wonne he haue not gained so much as hath ben by him put in).
1567 Proclam. Very Rich Lotterie Generall The number of Lots [in a Lottery] shall be Foure hundreth thousand, and no moe: and euery Lot shall be the summe of Tenne shillings sterling onely, and no more.
1569 Proclam. Reading Lotterie Citie of London (single sheet) To hym that shall winne the best and greatest Lotte, the summe of Foure Hundred and Sixtene Pounds, Thirtene shillings and Foure pence, which is the iust Twelfth part of Fiue Thousand pounds.
1605 J. Marston Dutch Courtezan iii. i. sig. D4 Husbands are like lotts in the lottery: you may drawe forty blankes before you finde one that has any prise in him.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) v. ii. 12 It is Lots to Blankes, My name hath touch't your eares. View more context for this quotation
1624 J. Smith Gen. Hist. Virginia iv. 117 There was a running Lottery..that brought into the Treasury good summes of mony dayly, though the Lot was but small.
1635 G. Wither Coll. Emblemes sig. Oo3v If it be the upper Figure, whose Index you moved, than, that Number whereupon it resteth, is the number of your Lot, or Blancke.
1698 Wheel of Fortune 2 Some more lucky Sot, Had march'd off with his Lot, And that was the Thousand pound Chance.
1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 170. ⁋6 You, who have both the furnishing and turning of that Wheel of Lots.
1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 203. ⁋2 The Chief Lot he was confident would fall upon some Puppy.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 191. ¶1 Each of these..thinks he stands fairest for the great Lot.
1817 S. Roberts State Lottery 20 A Two-wheel'd Jade, admired by Sots, Who flings, for cash in hand, her lots To those, who,—fain ‘their luck to try’.
1834 G. Soane Frolics of Puck I. i. 102 If your wit's no sharper than your courage, its lots to blanks that you thrust your head into some confounded scrape before all's over.
1966 Virginia Mag. Hist. 74 269 The unsold lots were withdrawn from the lottery, and on June 29 the drawing was begun.
1999 Shakespeare Q. 50 71 In the largest and most famous lottery of Shakespeare's time, there was in fact no difference between total lots and winning lots.
†b. A card representing a prize in the game of lottery (lottery n. 4). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > other card games > [noun] > lottery > card or prize
lot1768
1768 tr. Abbé Bellecour Acad. Play 188 Each Player having received his Card, the Lots [Fr. les Lots] are then turn'd, and each examines whether his Ticket answers to any of the Lots.
1850 H. G. Bohn et al. Hand-bk. Games 327 One of them [sc. dealers] deals a card to each player; all these cards are to remain turned, and are called the lots.
1876 ‘Capt. Crawley’ Card Player's Man. 235 One dealer gives to every player a card, face downwards, for the lots or prizes.
II. A portion, a share, and related senses.
5.
a. A portion or share of property, goods, etc., esp. as part of an inheritance. Frequently in biblical contexts. Now historical and rare.Also in the context of the division of land; cf. sense 10. With quot. c1350 cf. manslot n. and the discussion at that entry. With quot. a1475 cf. lot-mead n. at Compounds 2, lot-meadow n. at Compounds 2.Sometimes with reference to allocation by lot (as e.g. in the biblical story of Joshua: compare quot. a1425).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > sharing > [noun] > a share
lotOE
metc1225
partc1300
portion?1316
share1539
coportion1596
quota1688
ration1850
chop1919
low1934
the mind > possession > giving > distributing or dealing out > an allotted share, portion, or part > [noun]
dealc825
lotOE
dolea1225
partc1300
portion?1316
sort1382
parcelc1400
skiftc1400
pane1440
partagec1450
shift1461
skair1511
allotment1528
snapshare1538
share1539
slice1548
fee1573
snap1575
moiety1597
snatch1601
allotterya1616
proportiona1616
symbol1627
dealth1637
quantum1649
cavelc1650
snip1655
sortition1671
snack1683
quota1688
contingency1723
snick1723
contingent1728
whack1785
divvy1872
end1903
bite1925
OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Luke xv. 12 Da mihi portionem substantiae : sel me dæl uel hlodd fæes uel striones.
c1350 ( Bounds (Sawyer 659) in D. A. Woodman Charters of Northern Houses (2012) (corrected text) 98 On Fearnesfelda gebyrað twega manna hlot landes into Sudwellan.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 125 Þat citee Iacob bouȝte..and ȝaf it to Ioseph his sone ouer his lotte [L. super sortem].
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xiv. xii. 702 Mount Effraym..hadde many particuler hilles and dounes [MS dennes] for alle þe lotte of þe lynage is mooste in mounteyns and in wodis.
a1425 (a1382) Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Corpus Oxf.) (1850) Josh. xv. 1 The lot [L.V. part] of the sones of Juda, bi her kynredis, was this.
a1475 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Godstow Nunnery (1905) i. 269 (MED) ij rodes of mede..j rode in the first lotte, another Rode in the last lotte.
1530 Bible (Tyndale) Num. xxxvi. f. lxvii Then shall their enheritaunce..be taken from the lott of oure enheritaunce.
1578 tr. J. Calvin Comm. Joshua xvii. f. 78 Surely it were against all reson, that foure lots were geuen to fiue daughters.
1616 Briefe Declar. Present State Virginia 5 We intend God willing to beginne a present Diuision by Lot... This Diuision is intended to be done by a new Gouernour.., to giue euery man his Lot in due proportion.
1628 Z. Boyd Last Battell Soule 800 Of this Mount frequent mention is made in Scripture: In Ioshuah wee see that it bordered the lotte of the Land of the tribe of Issachar.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis x, in tr. Virgil Wks. 520 Thy Barrs, and Ingots, and the Sums beside, Leave for thy Childrens Lot.
1737 Visct. Bolingbroke Lett. Study Hist. vii. 188 The whole ten provinces were thrown into the lot of France.
1778 Monthly Rev. Mar. 202 Each citizen and warrior had his lot or share, which gave rise to allodiality.
1863 A. P. Stanley Lect. Jewish Church I. xii. 263 One lot, and one only, they were to have; the rest they were to carve out for themselves.
2013 A. Merritts Comprehensive Bible Study Lessons 91 Who inherited the lot between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph?
†b. Scottish. An allowance of corn paid as part of a fee to a thresher. Cf. lotman n. 2. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > grants and allowances > [noun] > allowance > in kind
stipend1631
lot1656
1656 Assessm. Wages Justices of Peace Edinb. in C. H. Firth Scotl. & Protectorate (1899) 407 A tasker..if he be imployed to thresh for some few weeks or dayes, he is to have the twenty-fifth part of all such corns as he shall happen to thresh (which is commonly called the lot or proof), and no more.
1708 in C. A. Malcolm Minutes Justices of Peace Lanarkshire (1931) 19 Besydes the Lot, which is the tuenty fifth pairt of what he threshes, he is to have a cothouse and a kaill yeard.
1791 J. Sinclair Statist. Acct. Scotl. I. 84 Threshing of corn is usually paid by what is termed lot, i.e. 1 boll is allowed for every 25 bolls that are threshed.
1814 J. Sinclair Gen Rep. Agric. Scotl. I. 226 The allowance to the thresher was..a proportion of the produce, known by the name of lot, (commonly a twenty-fifth part).
6.
a. A person's destiny, fortune, or situation in life (originally viewed as having been allotted by fate or divine providence). Later also in extended use with reference to the destiny, situation, etc., of an inanimate object. Chiefly with possessive or of-phrase. Cf. portion n. 2.In early use also in plural in same sense.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > necessity > fate or destiny as determining events > must as decreed by fate [verb (intransitive)] > be the fate of
lotOE
the mind > will > necessity > fate or destiny as determining events > [noun] > that which is ordained by fate > personal destiny or one's lot
lotOE
chance1297
fallc1300
weirds1320
cuta1340
fatec1374
vie1377
parta1382
foredoom1563
event1577
allotment1586
fatality1589
kincha1600
lines1611
fortunea1616
dispensation1704
OE Extracts from Bible: Ecclesiasticus (Royal 7 C.iv) xxv. 26 in R. Cornelius Die altenglische Interlinearversion zu De vittiis et peccatis (1995) 158 Brevis omnis malitia super malitiam mulieris, sors peccatorum cadit super illam : sceort ælc yfelnyss ofer yfelnysse wifes hlot synfulra fealþ ofer hy.
OE Hymns (Julius A.vi) cxxv. 2 in H. Gneuss Hymnar u. Hymnen im englischen Mittelalter (1968) 403 Est hęc tua virgo beata dupplici sorte : is þis þin [mæden] eadig mit twifealdum hlote.
c1350 Psalter (BL Add. 17376) in K. D. Bülbring Earliest Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter (1891) xxx. 18 (MED) Ich seid, ‘Þou art my God; myn lottes ben in þyn hondes.’
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 14555 Þat was sir Iudas scarioth, Of alle him fell þe werst lot.
a1529 J. Skelton Howe Douty Duke of Albany in Wks. (1568) sig. F.iiii O ye wretched Scottes Ye puaunt pyspottes It shalbe your lottes To be knytte vp with knottes.
1549 M. Coverdale et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. II. Ephes. i. f. iii We wer chosen vnto the lotte and enheritaunce of immortalitie.
1576 A. Fleming tr. in Panoplie Epist. 226 A minde satisfied with his appointed lotte.
1611 Bible (King James) Isa. xvii. 14 This is the portion of them that spoile vs, and the lot of them that robbe vs. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 952 However I with thee have fixt my Lot, Certain to undergoe like doom. View more context for this quotation
1684 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress 2nd Pt. 224 Shall it be my Lot to go that way again. View more context for this quotation
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 155. ⁋1 That Part of the Fair Sex whose Lot in Life is to be of any Trade.
1764 O. Goldsmith Traveller 10 He sees his little lot, the lot of all.
1772 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra I. Pref. p. xiii They..confess that they are dissatisfied with the common lot of humanity.
1813 W. Scott Rokeby iii. xxviii. 143 A weary lot is thine, fair maid.
1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan 72 Some pet scheme or other, To remedy the lot of our poor folk.
1901 F. Scott Romance of Trained Nurse xvi. 217 For a brief period only it [sc. a flower] gladdens the eye or cheers, according to its lot, then droops, withers and dies.
1931 H. G. Wells Work, Wealth & Happiness Mankind (1932) xv. 768 Impermanence is the lot of all encyclopædias.
1986 Chicago Tribune 24 May iii. 1/4 A conventional Joe who is family-oriented and generally happy with his lot in life.
2009 GQ Feb. 98/2 Those most admired in today's world share..a determination to succeed and improve their lot.
b. A person's turn or time to do something (originally, as determined by lot); (also) an allotted task. Chiefly with possessive. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > frequency > [noun] > recurrence > turn
charec1000
lotc1175
throwc1275
tourc1320
wheel1422
turnc1425
tourney1523
course1530
vice1637
rubbera1643
rote1831
whet1849
journey1884
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 133 Att ænne time whanne hiss lott. Wass cumenn upp to þeowwtenn He toc hiss recle fatt onn hand. & ȝede inn to þe temmple.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) 3 Esdras iv. 56 To alle men kepende the cite he wrot, to ȝiue to hem lotis and wagis [L. sortes et stipendia].
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Friar's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) Prol. l. 27 Lat hym seye to me What so hym list whan it comth to my lot By god I shal hym quyten euery grot.
a1450 (c1386) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women (Tanner) (1879) l. 1887 Now comeþ thi lote now comestou on þe rynge.
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Luke i. f. xviii Whan Zacharie executed the priestes office before God, as his course came, accordying to the custome of the priestes office, his lotte fell to burne incense.
1574 R. Robinson Rewarde of Wickednesse Prol. sig. Bv In this season it was my lotte to fall, Among a masque chosen for the nonce.
1611 Bible (King James) Luke i. 9. According to the custome of the Priests office, his lot was to burne incense when he went into the Temple of the Lord. View more context for this quotation
1639 R. Willis Mount Tabor 103 I..listened..to my fellowes that construed before me, and having also some easie word to my lot for parsing, I made hard shift to escape for that time.
1757 Gentleman's Mag. Aug. 369/1 On the 28th of March, it was my lot to be employed under the green-house, to which Zaida usually paid her morning visit.
1864 J. M. Wilson Presbyterian Hist. Almanac VI. 115 When it was my lot to be captain, I am ashamed to say, I yielded to the custom for fear of being laughed at by my comrades.
2001 R. Rendell Adam & Eve & pinch Me 13 It was the reverse of what Minty sometimes experienced when it was her lot to sort through the piles of clothes customers brought in.
7.
a. A tax, a duty; (chiefly) spec. a local or municipal tax paid in proportion to one's means. Chiefly in collocation with scot, esp. in lot and scot, scot and lot (see scot n.2 2a), or, in early use, with shot (see shot n.1 24). Now historical.It is possible that scot referred originally to the total sum paid and lot to the (varying) amounts payable by each individual (and to the status and rights resulting from paying this), but this is far from certain. In some later uses the two terms in combination are apparently intended to mean little more than ‘taxes collectively’.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > [noun]
yieldc950
tollc1000
tolne1023
mailOE
lotlOE
ransomc1325
tail1340
pensiona1387
contribution1387
scat gild14..
due1423
responsionc1447
impositionc1460
devoirs1503
excisea1513
toloney1517
impost1569
cast1597
levy1640
responde1645
reprise1818
lOE Articles of William I (Rochester) in F. Liebermann Gesetze der Angelsachsen (1903) I. iv. 487 Omnis Francigena qui..fuit in Anglia particeps consuetudinum Anglorum, quod ipsi dicunt on hlote et an scote [c1225 Titus schote], persoluatur secundum legem Anglorum.
c1250 Bracton's Note Bk. (1887) III. 499 (MED) Attornatus burgensium dicit quod ipsi sunt ad scot et ad loht in eadem uilla.
1320 Rolls of Parl.: Edward II (Electronic ed.) Parl. Oct. 1320 SC 9/23 §52. m. 6v Quod cum villa de Pevenese..fuerit..in lote et scote cum illa villa de Hastingg'.
1422 in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 124 (MED) Item, Nichol Busche, et hoste with William Ryder, defectiue, for he payet lotte ne scotte.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 241/1 Lotte or shotte, escot.
1555 Actes 2 & 3 Philip & Mary f. v By them to be assygned two shyllynges for euery daye of the rates, taxes, lottes and Summes of moneye that shalbe assessed.
1628 E. Coke 1st Pt. Inst. Lawes Eng. 283 That it was done by authority of the Commission of Sewers for Lotte or Taxe assessed by that Commission.
a1642 R. Callis Reading of Statute of Sewers (1647) iii. 142 The Law is, that a Distress lyeth for a Rate, Lot or Tax imposed by the Commissioners of Sewers.
1738 S.-Carolina Gaz. 2 Nov. 3/2 He pays no Taxes, Scott or Lott He keeps no House, he boils no Pott.
1841 W. Mildmay Method & Rule Proc. Elections London 108 His occupancy in trade render him liable to all the local assessments thereto appertaining, and particularly to the Scotting and the liability to Lot requisite to the elective franchise.
1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. xvi. 151 She paid scot and she paid lot when she had money to pay.
1935 K. M. E. Murray Constit. Hist. Cinque Ports iv. 50 The men of the thirty-two haws in the king's town of Faversham agreed to help Dover by the provision of a ship, and to pay scot and lot to the Head Port.
2004 Albion 36 598 The right of election lay with the inhabitants of the borough paying scot and lot.
b. Mining. With reference to lead mining in Derbyshire: a royalty paid to the owner of a mine, consisting of a proportion of the total ore extracted. Cf. cope n.3 2, lot-lead n. at Compounds 2. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for privilege > [noun] > of taking minerals
sand-mail1287
lot-leada1483
lot1630
cope1631
sand-gavel1663
lordship1767
gale1775
tribute1778
royalty1839
groundage1852
seignioragea1859
galeage1881
1630 in R. S. France Thieveley Lead Mines (1951) 82 The kings duetie throughout all Derbyshire is to have every xiijth dish of oare, which is called the Lott.
1631 in S. R. Gardiner Rep. Cases Star Chamber & High Comm. (1886) 91 The said Mr Carrier..had likewise taken a farme or lease of the tythe oare, called the lott and cope, from his Majestie, under the seale of the Dutchy of Lancaster.
1653 E. Manlove Liberties & Customes Lead-mines Derby 76 The thirteenth dish of oar within their mine, To th' Lord for Lot, they pay at measuring time.
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Derb. 229 The Lord for Lot, hath the thirteenth dish of Oar, within their Mine, and six pence a load for Cope.
1747 W. Hooson Miners Dict. sig. Mjb The chief Proprietor and Lord of the Mine; to whom Lot or Farm is paid by the Miner.
1828 J. S. Bayldon Treat. Valuation of Property 188 The case states, that the duty of lot was the thirteenth dish or measure of lead ore, got dressed and made merchantable.
1851 Act 14 & 15 Victoria c. 94 Sched. i. §9 The Duty called Lot is and shall be One Thirteenth Part of all Ore raised within the Jurisdiction of the Barmote Courts.
1909 Mining & Engin. Jrnl. 7 Aug. 236/3 The King..receives the duties of Lot and Cope in right of his Duchy of Lancaster.
2001 I. Blanchard Mining, Metall. & Minting in Middle Ages II. viii. 812 The right to collect ‘lot’, which represented a twelfth or thirteenth of production in the [Wirksworth] wapentake and Hartington respectively.
8. gen. A part or portion of something; a number of things or people forming part of a larger whole. Now rare except in specific use in sense 9 or as merged in branch IV.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun]
deala800
doleOE
endOE
lotlOE
partyc1300
parta1325
specec1330
portiona1387
piecec1400
proportion1443
parcellingc1449
faction1577
piecemeal1603
proportional1856
lOE Fifteen Days before Judgement (1917) 90 On þan sixten dæige..ælc stan tobrytt on feower hloten, & ælc þære hloten fiht wið oðer, oððet heo eall to duste gewurðeð.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 19017 Forr þi patt manness sawle. Iss i þe mann Þe bettre lott.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 15248 Þe maste lott tatt heȝhesst iss. Iss þatt lærede genge. Þatt iss ȝuw sett abufenn ȝuw. To ȝemenn & to lærenn..Þiss lott off all crisstene follc Iss heȝhesst unnderr criste.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 10939 Þise cullfress. Þatt sinndenn i þiss midderrærd. An lott off manne fode.
a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 31 Moni mon hit walde him forȝeuen half oðer þridde lot þenne he iseȝe þet he ne mahte na mare ȝe-forðian.
1598 W. Lisle tr. S. G. de Senlis in tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Colonies 4 The Poet saith further, that ye Lord diuided the whole earth into thre lots.
1639 in W. Stevenson Presbyterie Bk. Kirkcaldie (1900) 145 A great lot of the brethren being at ane meiting.
1678 J. Vernon Compl. Compting-house 190 Five or six Men buy a whole Ships loading of Raisins of the Sun of a Merchant..and when they have bought them, they divide the thousand Barrels; suppose into six Lots, or Parts.
1760 Gentleman's Mag. Feb. 62/2 Salt water doth not deposit its salt till the evaporation is carried so far that there remain only five lots of salt to thirteen lots of fresh water.
1873 Christian Union 29 Jan. 100/3 Once in a while, a small lot of the pictures, printed in such vast quantities, run less perfectly than the others.
1921 Papers Bibliogr. Soc. Amer. 15 41 Harvard this spring has bought about half the fifteenth-century Savonarola tracts and a sizable lot of the Florentine Rappresentazioni.
2008 D. Sokolin & A. Bruce Investing in Liquid Assets 2 Over time, fewer and fewer bottles exist of the comparatively small lot of the world's best wines that, themselves, are improving with age.
9.
a. Each of a number of sets into which items are divided to be sold; (chiefly) spec. an item or set of items for sale as a single unit at an auction.See also job lot n., odd lot n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > merchandise > article(s) to be sold > [noun] > unit of goods for sale or lot
lota1666
dole1887
a1666 in J. G. Nichols Topographer & Genealogist (1858) III. 107 11 Feb. 1613.—A rue-bargain of Mr. Bridgens for a lot of willowes in Milton holt.
1678 J. Vernon Compl. Compting-house 191 So many Goods are divided into so many Parts, or Lots, and notice is given of what is in each Lot, and when the price is set, there is an advance put upon it.
1690 Coll. Paintings Rare Masters (title page) A Collection of Paintings..Will be Sold by Auction... The Conditions of Sale as usual, and the time of Paying and fetching away the Lots so bought, to be within Three days after at the said place.
1704 London Gaz. No. 4060/5 Lot 65. Cont. Brown Sugar.
1790 Coll. Voy. round World V. viii. 1571 In general, we paid for each lot or separate article as we received them.
1821 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto III xv. 10 He had chain'd His prisoners, dividing them like chapters In number'd lots.
1859 Chambers's Jrnl. 23 Apr. 270/2 Lot after lot was disposed of..at what were considered good prices.
1901 19th Cent. 426 Lot 1 was brought up in a box.
1989 T. C. Boyle If River was Whiskey 191 I waited through a dozen lots of number-two pencils, Cabbage Patch Dolls, and soft-white lightbulbs, and then I placed the sole bid on the thirty thousand left-footed shoes.
2009 Classic Tractor Sept. 113/3 Don't forget that not all auctioneers sell at the same pace; some will rattle through the lots quicker than others.
b. Chiefly colloquial or regional. With modifying (usually depreciative) adjective: a person regarded as having the specified character or quality. Esp. in bad lot.For uses of bad lot, etc., referring to a group of people of a specified character, see sense 15.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > evil nature or character > [noun] > person of bad character
argha1275
noughty packc1520
dunghill1542
land-rat1600
black sheep1640
cacodemon1711
mauvais sujet1793
bad lot1835
badmash1843
rotter1879
wrong 'un1892
wrongo1937
1835 C. Whitehead Autobiogr. Jack Ketch ix. 102 The colloguing varmint was always a comin', arter you toddled, and I began to think, dang it, he's a bad lot.
1862 Mrs. H. Wood Channings II. xvii. 257 Charley's not a bad lot, and he sha'n't be harmed.
1892 Two Tales 25 June 64 I don't want to rob her—indeed I don't, sir. She's a good lot, much too good for me.
1894 Mrs. H. Ward Marcella III. iv. v. 345 I'm a bad lot, I know—well, an idle lot—I don't think I am a bad lot.
1930 N. Coward Private Lives iii. 77 I ought never to have married you; I'm a bad lot.
1966 M. Golden Fielding's Moral Psychol. iv. 86 Western is that favorite figure of eighteenth-century speculation, the natural man, unaffected either by social rules or by religion, and a mixed lot he is.
2003 C. Birch Turn again Home xxix. 314 That Edward was turning out a right bad lot, mucking about all day long in the road with his yobby little pals.
III. A plot of land.
10. Originally and chiefly North American.
a. A plot or parcel of land; (originally) a piece of land assigned by the state to a particular owner (now historical); (also) a piece of land divided off for a particular purpose, such as building or pasture; (later usually) a fairly small plot of land with fixed boundaries and in separate occupation or ownership from surrounding plots; esp. one on which a house has been or may be built.building lot, city lot, corner lot, home lot, house lot, meadow lot, etc.: see the first element.Compare earlier quots. at sense 5a (e.g. quots. c1350, 1589, 1628) which refer to a person's inherited or allotted portion, consisting of a piece of land.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > real or immovable property > land > allotted land
allotment1560
deal1600
lot1633
share1643
lotment1651
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > [adverb] > by the quickest or shortest way
at (the) gainestc1400
lot1633
next ways1789
cross-lots1825
the world > food and drink > farming > farm > farmland > [adverb] > enclose land > across fields
lot1633
1633 in Rec. Mass. Bay (1853) I. 102 The westermost part of the Governors greate lot.
1637 in Rec. Early Hist. Boston (1877) II. 21 It is agreed that Mr. Atherton Haulgh shall have..the rest of Bretheren's meadow Lotte there.
1641 in J. H. Trumbull Public Rec. Colony of Connecticut (1850) I. 505 To Jacob, my sonne, I giue my howse and lotts, meadow, homelotte and great lott and lottes whatsoeuer on this side the great Riuer.
1689 in Colonial Rec. Pennsylvania (1852) I. 317 If ye Province will build me a house in the City, vpon my Lott.
1747 in First Rec. Baltimore Town (1905) 22 To Survey the Same and lay it out into Lotts with convenient Streets and Alleys.
1753 J. Hempstead Diary 17 July (1998) 596 Wee pulld up the yellow Blossoms (alias Johnsworth) in the upper End & back Side the Lot.
1805 R. Forsyth Beauties Scotl. II. 473 Each of these freemen possesses what is called a lot or freedom, containing about four acres of arable land.
1836 C. P. Traill Backwoods of Canada 47 Every little dwelling..has its lot of land.
1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) III. 700 Each of the lots in the plain had an appointed chief..the size of the lot was a square of ten stadia each way.
1893 H. Rutherfurd & G. R. Gillespie Royal Comm. Labour: Agric. Labourer III. i. 123/1 in Parl. Papers 1893–4 (C.6894-XV) XXXVI. 203 The feus and the lots are not kept together; the feuar lets his lotted lands, and a farmer takes them.
1937 Sun (Baltimore) 30 Sept. 24/2 The building of a stone wall along a lot boundary on Wendover road.
1989 D. Radcliffe Simply Barbara Bush viii. 147 People living there had often wondered about the vacant lot at the end of the street but had decided since it was so small nothing would ever be built there.
2005 Wall St. Jrnl. 21 Mar. (Central ed.) a2/4 Home buyers tear down a perfectly fine, but smaller, home in an older neighborhood and build a larger house on the same lot.
b. A piece of land to the back or front of a house or other building; a garden or yard. Cf. back lot n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > courtyard > [noun] > (back or front) yard
yardOE
backside1450
stead1546
outyard1600
lot1657
backyard1659
outlet1667
area1712
back lot1714
backlet1724
door-yardc1764
front yard1767
rear yard1800
tenement yard1874
sitooterie1994
1657 in B. D. Hicks Rec. N. & S. Hempstead, Long Island (1896) I. 16 All the fences of the front Lottes that rune into the filld shall be suffisliantly and substanshally fensed.
1685 W. Penn Further Acct. Pennsylvania 13 John Test has almost finished a good Brick House, and a Bake-house of Timber; and N. Allen a good house, next to Thomas Wynns front Lot.
1714 Laws Province Pennsilvania 123 To each Patent for a back Lot, four shillings and six Pence.
1876 Fruit Recorder 1 Aug. 118/3 Many a bare rear lot in our cities and towns would give a good supply of raspberries and blackberries and grapes.
1894 J. L. Allen Kentucky Cardinal xvi. 143 As I crossed the lot, near the milk-trough, ash-heap, and parings of fruit and vegetables thrown from my neighbor's kitchen, I saw a litter of..pigs.
1921 ‘M. Keith’ Little Miss Melody i. 9 Old Wellington Caldwell..planted mountain ash trees along the front of his lot.
1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 5 Feb. 23/3 (advt.) 9 year old contemporary 6 room bungalow... Heavily wooded lot and natural stream creates a very picturesque background setting.
2011 N. O'Hair Lucy, M'amie (e-book, accessed 9 Dec. 2014) xii. 114 That was to be a pond in the lot in front of the house—a pond for turtles, of which Audubon was fond, and ducks, both tame and wild.
11. Chiefly North American and Australian. Each of the plots or portions into which a tract of land is divided when offered for sale. Cf. subdivision n. 4.In some instances perhaps influenced by sense 9a.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > real or immovable property > land > a piece of land > piece of land offered for sale
lot1686
1686 in J. Munsell Ann. Albany (1850) II. 93 Which said lotts of grounde ye common councill will dispose of at a publike vendu or out cry.
1734 Maryland Gaz. 19 July My Lord Baltimore's Gift..consisting of 10,000 Acres, will be..divided into Lots or Farms.
1776 G. Semple Treat. Building in Water 154 E. and F. are twenty Lots for Docks,..p. and q. Thirty Lots for principal Merchants..to store their Imports and Exports.
1836 C. P. Traill Backwoods of Canada 89 The plains are sold off in park lots.
1840 M. R. Mitford in A. G. L'Estrange Life M. R. Mitford (1870) III. vii. 109 The lot, about an acre, is to be sold on the first of next month.
1876 Los Angeles Daily Herald 4 Oct. 3/6 Lots for Sale on the Installment Plan.
1959 N.Y. Times 7 Dec. 53/4 Fifteen parcels of vacant land containing about 390 lots in Eltingville..will be put up for sale at an auction.
2001 Austral. Financial Rev. (Nexis) 8 Sept. 19 PDR has also put in a subdivision application to release for sale 16 lots of freehold land.
12. Originally and chiefly North American. A small enclosure, usually adjoining a farm building, in which domestic animals or livestock are turned out to graze.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > farm > farmland > [noun] > enclosed land or field > small field or enclosure
parrockeOE
croft969
pightlec1200
curtilagec1330
gartha1340
toftc1440
pingle1546
lot1789
log-paddock1900
1789 Amer. Museum Feb. 159/1 For the best method of raising hogs, from the pig, in pens or sties, from experience, their sometimes running in a lot or field not totally excluded.
1831 J. M. Peck Guide for Emigrants 166 In autumn they [sc. oxen] were shut up in a lot.
1886 Harper's Mag. Dec. 48/1 He heard some of his young mules galloping around the yard, and he made a sleepy resolve to..dismiss his overseer for letting them get out of the lot.
1913 Locomotive Engineers Jrnl. Mar. 221/2 The old man with the coarse voice had almost busted his air hose chasing a mule in the lot.
1942 W. Faulkner Go down, Moses & Other Stories 213 The colt was missing and it was all he could do to get the frantic mare into the lot.
2003 J. Dailey Shifting Calder Wind (2004) ix. 168 The two men moved to the fence and stepped onto the lower rail for a better view of the animals in the lot.
13. Originally and chiefly North American. An area of land used for parking motor vehicles, spec. (a) the area at a car dealership where cars for sale are kept (esp. in (used) car lot); (b) a designated area where motor vehicles may be parked temporarily; = parking lot n. at parking n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > trading place > place where retail transactions made > [noun] > shop > shops selling other specific goods
jeweller's shop1632
ironmongery1648
ironmonger1673
jeweller1675
news shop1688
print shop1689
Indian house1692
coal shed1718
pamphlet shop1721
lormery1725
drugstore1771
hardware store1777
junk store1777
chandler-shop1782
junk shop1790
music store1794
pot shop1794
finding store1822
marine store1837
picture house1838
paint shop1847
news agency1852
chemist1856
Army and Navy1878
cyclery1886
jumble-shop1893
pig shop1896
Manchester department1905
lot1909
craft shop1911
garden centre1912
pet shop1927
sex shop1949
video store1949
quincaillerie1951
home centre1955
Army-Navy1965
cookshop1967
sound shop1972
bucket-shop1973
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > testing, servicing, and storage of motor vehicles > [noun] > land used for parking
lot1909
1909 Motor World 12 Aug. 826/1 The owner of the big lot on the north side of the road reaped a harvest. He raised his prices from ‘two bits’ to $1, but even this did not keep out the cars, and there were fully 500 machines parked in the lot.
1939 W. Saroyan Peace, it's Wonderful 31 All I do now is hang around this used car lot and wait for people to come around and start asking questions about the jalopies we're showing.
1959 L. Lipton Holy Barbarians 25 I didn't shuck the customers enough to please the crook who was running the car lot.
1968 J. Irving Setting Free Bears ii. 145 Grandfather—who's parked and locked the taxi in the lot at Karl's Church—walks Hilke and the cookie crock home.
2002 S. Holmes B-More Careful vi. 82 He bought her a little red Honda Prelude fresh off the lot.
14. Originally and chiefly North American. An outdoor area around a film studio, where sets are constructed and filming may take place. Also more widely: the entire site of a film studio.In quot. 1928 in extended use.See also back lot n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > cinematography > filming > [noun] > place for filming
studio1909
location1914
lot1915
film set1916
sound stage1931
floor1937
1915 N.Y. Times 19 Sept. x5/2 The costumes of the women principals displeasing Mr. Griffith, he ordered a French costumier to set up a shop on the lot.
1928 ‘R. West’ Strange Necessity 205 The worst of making war, as of acting for the ‘movies’, is the amount of waiting around on the lot.
1966 Listener 15 Dec. 880/1 Many lots are devoted to the less arduous and expensive work of turning out films for television networks.
1992 N.Y. Times 24 Aug. c11/6 The Warner Brothers brass walked into a plush screening room on the studio's lot in Burbank.
2009 B. Hoskyns Lowside of Road i. viii. 256 Thanks to the decision to re-create Las Vegas on the lot rather than shoot it on location, the budget was escalating daily.
IV. A group, a set; a number, quantity, or amount.
15. A number of things or animals of the same kind, or associated in some way; a quantity or amount of something; a set, a group; spec. a batch or consignment of goods, livestock, etc. Chiefly with of.Distinguished from senses 8 and 9a in referring to a group as a whole rather than as part of a larger body, although sometimes overlapping with those senses.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > [noun] > a kind, sort, or class > a number of things classed together
class1583
coveya1592
parcel1607
batch1616
sisterhood1616
clan1667
band1690
set1690
lot1710
group1718
brotherhood1728
kit1785
package1947
the world > relative properties > quantity > [noun] > a quantity or amount
fother13..
minda1325
quantitya1325
bodya1500
qt.1640
volume1702
some deal1710
lot1789
chance1805
mess1809
grist1832
jag1834
mense1841
society > trade and finance > merchandise > [noun] > load or lot of specific size or abundance
ladec897
cheapc1384
shock1582
commodity1592
allotment1703
piece1774
break1864
lot1872
bulka1888
chance lot1888
trucklot1943
the world > relative properties > quantity > [noun] > a definite or specified quantity or amount > specific quantities or amounts > produced or obtained > at one time
making1644
batch1713
lot1884
1710 R. Steele et al. Tatler No. 270, in Lucubrations Isaac Bickerstaff (1711) II. 1/1 I have given my self some Time to find out, how distinguishing the Frays in a Lot of Muslins, or drawing up a Regiment of Thread-Laces,..should entitle a Man to a Laced Hat or Sword.
1752 Adventurer No. 6. 35 My poetry will consist of every article, whether tragedies, comedies,..elegies or epithalamiums... There shall be several distinct lots of title-pages and mottos, and dedications, and prefaces, and plans for books.
1789 J. Bentham Introd. Princ. Morals & Legisl. xvi. §16 On the one hand a lot of punishment is a lot of pain; on the other hand the profit of an offence is a lot of pleasure.
1802 G. Culley Let. 15 June in M. Culley & G. Culley Farming Lett. (2006) 309 Wright..sold a large lot of clipped hogs or shearings last Wednesday morning at Morpeth at 48s per over head and all together.
1836 A. Underwood Jrnl. in Southwestern Hist. Q. (1928) 32 143 I had on a very heavy lot of clothing ammunition &c.
1872 R. W. Raymond Statistics Mines & Mining 140 The Good Samaritan, on the dump of which a large lot of ore has accumulated.
1884 E. R. Turner in Law Times 30 Aug. 310/1 The defendant saw the calves, one of which, the only wye calf in the lot, was poorly.
1890 Punch 31 May 253/1 The elderly dowager inside produces a cut-glass scent-bottle of goodly size... It won't take 'er long to mop up that little lot!
1913 Sat. Evening Post (Philadelphia) 22 Feb. 60/1 (advt.) We are the first in the industry to build six cylinder cars in lots of ten thousand.
1974 Times 15 Feb. 14/7 Its cover portrays the Prime Minister, seated at the organ, tinkling one lot of ivories and flashing the other lot.
1990 Internat. Jrnl. Epidemiol. 19 1087/1 When products are organized in discrete batches or lots a sampling procedure is employed.
2000 Pract. Parenting Apr. 52/1 A family diary..will help you keep tabs on everything from the next lot of jabs to your childminder's summer holiday.
16.
a. A group of people gathered together; a company, a party; (now usually) a number of people associated in some way by the speaker or writer. Chiefly with of or a determiner such as this, that, or other. Now colloquial and often depreciative.Distinguished from sense 8 in referring to a group as a whole rather than as part of a larger body, although the senses sometimes overlap.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > association, fellowship, or companionship > a company or body of persons > [noun]
ferec975
flockOE
gingc1175
rout?c1225
companyc1300
fellowshipc1300
covinc1330
eschelec1330
tripc1330
fellowred1340
choira1382
head1381
glub1382
partya1387
peoplec1390
conventc1426
an abominable of monksa1450
body1453
carol1483
band1490
compernagea1500
consorce1512
congregationa1530
corporationa1535
corpse1534
chore1572
society1572
crew1578
string1579
consort1584
troop1584
tribe1609
squadron1617
bunch1622
core1622
lag1624
studa1625
brigadea1649
platoon1711
cohort1719
lot1725
corps1754
loo1764
squad1786
brotherhood1820
companionhood1825
troupe1825
crowd1840
companionship1842
group1845
that ilk1845
set-out1854
layout1869
confraternity1872
show1901
crush1904
we1927
familia1933
shower1936
1725 in G. Sheldon Hist. Deerfield, Mass. (1895) I. 449 Our men..discovered a partie of the Enemy that had killed a mare & a Lott of men.
1797 Submissions Dependence x. 54 There are to be a great lot of originals to hoax—a neat set.
1818 R. B. Peake Amateurs & Actors ii. i. 44 O! please, Sir, there's a lot of folks below axing for—are you a Manager, Sir?
1854 J. W. Carlyle Lett. (1883) II. 249 Mr. C—— being too busy with his book to waste a month at present, besides having a sacred horror of two several lots of children who were to be there.
1898 J. D. Brayshaw Slum Silhouettes 141 Yus, it's a nobby little turn-out, ain't it?.. Mine? Lor' luv a duck! No, that's Sal Hogan's little lot.
a1914 H. Miles Brief Sketch of Life (1924) 58 He has taken up with that lot, and been to their chapel, and become a Methodist, and joined that narrow-minded people.
1939 D. Thomas Let. 2 Nov. (1987) 426 One large lot of people is nearly always as ‘congenial’ as any other lot.
1959 C. MacInnes Absolute Beginners 63 Here was a family: at any rate, a lot, a mob, a click I could belong to.
1975 P. G. Winslow Death of Angel 125 A group of lads she doesn't care about... Next stop Wormwood Scrubs, that little lot.
2012 Independent 2 Feb. 2/5 If this lot are in charge of restructuring billions of pounds worth of public spending, I'll eat my hat if it comes off.
b. colloquial. With modifying (frequently depreciative) adjective: a group of people of a specified character.the best of a bad lot: see best adj., n.1, and adv. Phrases 4d(a).
ΚΠ
1826 Sat. Evening Post (Philadelphia) 9 Sept. The latter has several times been taken for the king, while walking the streets of Paris. All the others are a poor lot. The Duke and Duchess d'Angouleme are both coarse in their features.
1853 C. Dickens Bleak House x. 94 Our law-writers, who live by job-work, are a queer lot.
1879 W. Benham Catharine & Craufurd Tait ii. 501 Their crew seem to have been a lazy lot.
1883 Harper's Mag. Jan. 206/2 The men who do this work are an interesting lot.
1897 M. Kingsley Trav. W. Afr. 348 He said the natives were an exceedingly bad lot.
1917 T. S. Eliot Let. 31 Oct. (1988) I. 205 I have just been invited..to contribute to a reading of poets, and what a poor lot they are!
1971 J. F. Hunter Gay Insider iv. 105 Show-biz gypsies are a resourceful lot.
2002 Dayton (Ohio) Daily News (Nexis) 20 June Today's politicians are a prosaic, timid, boring lot.
c. colloquial (chiefly British). Used for emphasis after a plural personal pronoun. Esp. in you lot.In you lot, often used to indicate or emphasize plural reference (in contrast to simple you, which may have either singular or plural reference). Cf. yous pron., you-all pron.
ΚΠ
1907 Manch. Guardian 9 Feb. 7/6 When the guard came to the top to collect the fares the girls there tendered their pennies. The guard declined them, explaining, ‘Your mother has paid for all you lot.’
1913 D. H. Lawrence Sons & Lovers iv. 99 I'm not such a extravagant mortal as you lot, with your waste.
1952 T. Armstrong Adam Brunskill vi. 177 I suppose that means another sup o' tea for us lot down at this end.
1965 P. Arrowsmith Jericho xix. 199 If you go on accusing me of attacking you lot, buster, you'll have the police to answer to.
2000 I. Inyama in C. Newland & K. Sesay IC3 386 So, us lot stick to ourselves, them lot do likewise.
2011 H. Pool Stranger in Taiwan 142 Well, who gives a shit what you lot think!
17. colloquial. With the.
a. A group of things or people in its entirety; all of it, them, etc.; everything; everyone. Now often appended to a list to imply that more items might be added in order to be comprehensive. Frequently, and earliest, modified by whole.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > the whole or all > [noun] > the whole quantity, number, or amount > the whole lot
every whita1450
every stitch?a1500
the devil and all1543
prow and poop1561
Christ-cross-row1579
every snip1598
thread and thrum1600
boodle1625
hair and hoof1705
rag-tag (also rag, tag) and bob-tail1725
tutti quanti1772
lot1791
lock, stock, and barrel1824
stock and fluke1825
the whole boiling1837
box and dice1839
the whole caboodlea1848
sub-cheese1859
the whole kit and boiling (boodle, caboodle, cargo)1859
the whole jingbang1866
the whole hypothec1871
the whole ball of wax1882
the whole (entire) shoot1884
(at) every whip-stitch1888
work1899
issue1919
guntz1958
full monty1979
1791 J. Ireland Hogarth Illustr. II. 597 I observed a porter carrying an old trunk without a cover, in which was a little picture,..a number of prints, and an old manuscript volume bound in vellum. He laid down his load at a broker's shop; I inspected it, and seeing the book inscribed Mart. Scrib. purchased the whole lot.
1797 S. J. Pratt Family Secrets V. iv. 25 The Baronet agreed to the whole lot.
1815 T. Moore Epist. from Tom Cribb in Gentleman's Mag. Oct. 352/1 One swig of Blue Ruin is worth the whole lot!
1857 Leisure Hour 5 Nov. 708/1 Her appeals for custom in those asthmatic iterations of ‘Only a penny the lot—the lot for a penny.’
1867 Mrs. H. Wood Orville Coll. I. xi. 252 I caught young Dick buying a quart [of gooseberries]. He's crunching the lot.
1936 W. R. Titterton G. K. Chesterton i. ii. 30 If I quoted much of that marvellous essay I should have to quote the lot.
1956 R. Macaulay Towers of Trebizond iv. 32 Archæologists..were the worst of the lot for tittle-tattle, and as malicious as cats.
1956 H. Williams & M. Williams Plaintiff in Pretty Hat in Plays of Year XV. 178 It was to be a big wedding—the full treatment—Royalty—the lot.
1961 ‘J. Welcome’ Beware of Midnight ii. 33 Your old man has croaked and left you the lot.
1981 S. McAughtry Belfast Stories iii. 127 Five full rounds of dip bread, with fried egg and bacon shoved into them, and the whole lot wrapped in the Belfast Telegraph.
2002 Stationary Engine Mag. July 3/3 They would be fully kitted-up, protective suit, mask, breathing apparatus, the lot.
b. Preceding an object personal pronoun: all of. Frequently, and earliest, modified by whole.
ΚΠ
1805 T. Holcroft Mem. Bryan Perdue I. 30 Put all the countries in the world in a bag, and the whole lot of them not worth little I-reland.
1886 R. L. Stevenson Strange Case Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde i. 8 There was something about the lot of us that meant mischief.
1915 J. Turner Let. 19 Apr. in C. Warren Somewhere in France (2019) 7 My dear little sister..was so jolly sporting as to see the lot of us off.
1933 D. L. Sayers Murder must Advertise viii. 129 Clock-watchers, the whole lot of them.
1983 Pop. Mech. Mar. 128/2 Shock bracket, brake caliper, splash shields, retainers, the lot of it—all aluminum.
2013 Ireland's Own 12 Apr. 53/1 You would all crowd around to watch as I baked, the lot of you pushing and jostling.
V. A large number or amount.
18. Originally colloquial. A large or considerable number of people or things; a large or considerable amount of something; a great deal, a good deal, plenty.Cf. earlier examples where the large size of a group or set is expressed by a modifier, e.g. quots. 1797 at sense 16a, 1802 at sense 15.In use with indefinite article sometimes written as one word, alot (nonstandard).
a. With of-phrase as complement.The phrases a lot of and lots of are sometimes regarded as phrasal determiners (functioning similarly to much adj. II. and many adj.); grammatical agreement is normally with the noun following of rather than with the form of lot (cf., e.g., quots. 1890, 1990 at sense 18a(a), quot. 1915 at sense 18a(b)).
(a) In plural (lots of). Also reduplicated (lots and lots of).Now generally regarded as more colloquial than a lot of.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > (a) great quantity or amount
felec825
muchc1230
good wone1297
plentyc1300
bushelc1374
sight1390
mickle-whata1393
forcea1400
manynessa1400
multitudea1400
packc1400
a good dealc1430
greata1450
sackful1484
power1489
horseloadc1500
mile1508
lump1523
a deal?1532
peckc1535
heapa1547
mass1566
mass1569
gallon1575
armful1579
cart-load1587
mickle1599
bushelful1600–12
a load1609
wreck1612
parisha1616
herd1618
fair share1650
heapa1661
muchness1674
reams1681
hantle1693
mort1694
doll?1719
lift1755
acre1759
beaucoup1760
ton1770
boxload1795
boatload1807
lot1811
dollop1819
swag1819
faggald1824
screed1826
Niagara1828
wad1828
lashings1829
butt1831
slew1839
ocean1840
any amount (of)1848
rake1851
slather1857
horde1860
torrent1864
sheaf1865
oodlesa1867
dead load1869
scad1869
stack1870
jorum1872
a heap sight1874
firlot1883
oodlings1886
chunka1889
whips1888
God's quantity1895
streetful1901
bag1917
fid1920
fleetful1923
mob1927
bucketload1930
pisspot1944
shitload1954
megaton1957
mob-o-ton1975
gazillion1978
buttload1988
shit ton1991
1811 J. G. Millingen Bee-hive i. 7 My dear Miss Cicely, what procures me the pleasure of this visit? Lots of thanks for such a favour.
1812 in Spirit of Public Jrnls. (1813) XVI. 191 Lots of our Senators have of late been subject to the awful visitation.
1816 ‘Quiz’ Grand Master ii. 47 Gallons of Arrack, lots of beer.
1849 A. H. Clough Corr. 4 July (1957) I. 266 You see lots of Villas,—six or seven at least,—in ruins.
1890 W. F. Buchanan Austral. to Rescue p. xxiv There is lots of water along the frontage.
1931 Good Housek. (U.S. ed.) Dec. 133/1 It's any meat chopped fine and mixed with lots of fat, and seasoned with raisins and things.
1974 Newark Ohio Advocate 23 Feb. 4/5 Fanzines may contain editorials, essays, book and film reviews and lots and lots of letters.
1990 J. Eberts & T. Ilott My Indecision is Final xxi. 220 Lots of pressure was put on us not to rock the boat.
2013 Nat. Health Apr. 115/3 I've read lots of interesting facts about the health benefits of the graviola tree.
(b) In singular with indefinite article (a lot of). Also with modifier, as a whole lot of (an awful lot of, a hell of a lot of, etc.).a fat lot of: see fat adj. 10c.Sometimes with indefinite article omitted.
ΚΠ
1827 Ann. Reg. 1826 ii. Chron. 166/2 Hall said he would send 2l. on Wednesday. I said it was a lot of money to fool away about such nonsense.
1845 Punch 9 40/2 Young Oxford eats a wondrous meal, And drinks a lot of beer.
1915 W. S. Maugham Of Human Bondage cxviii. 627 There were a lot of children about, and a good many babies.
1934 C. Porter There'll always be Lady Fair in R. Kimball Compl. Lyrics C. Porter (1983) 119 A sailor's life is supposed to be a hell of a lot of fun.
1940 J. Rice Diary 5 Sept. in Sand in my Shoes (2006) 85 I always did suspect a whole lot of hooey importance was placed on virginity.
1959 E. Ambler Passage of Arms v. 124 Little scotch, lot of soda.
1986 Punch 16 July 42/3 It seems like an awful lot of expense and trouble to me.
2014 N.Y. Times 8 Jan. (Late ed.) d5/2 There are a lot of misconceptions about which cheeses melt well.
b. Without of-phrase as complement.
(a) In plural. Also reduplicated.Now often regarded as a pronoun; cf. much pron. and n. 1a, many pron. and n. I.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > plurality > great number, numerousness > [noun] > a large number or multitude
sandc825
thousandc1000
un-i-rimeOE
legiona1325
fernc1325
multitudec1350
hundred1362
abundancec1384
quantityc1390
sight1390
felec1394
manyheada1400
lastc1405
sortc1475
infinityc1480
multiplie1488
numbers1488
power1489
many1525
flock1535
heapa1547
multitudine1547
sort1548
myriads1555
myriads1559
infinite1563
tot-quot1565
dickera1586
multiplea1595
troop1596
multitudes1598
myriad1611
sea-sands1656
plurality1657
a vast many1695
dozen1734
a good few1756
nation1762
vast1793
a wheen (of)1814
swad1828
lot1833
tribe1833
slew1839
such a many1841
right smart1842
a million and one1856
horde1860
a good several1865
sheaf1865
a (bad, good, etc.) sortc1869
immense1872
dunnamuch1875
telephone number1880
umpty1905
dunnamany1906
skit1913
umpteen1919
zillion1922
gang1928
scrillion1935
jillion1942
900 number1977
gazillion1978
fuckload1984
1833 Fraser's Mag. Apr. 428/1 Here I am, devilish sorry for myself, going up to town just as the turnpike-meetings and parish business are all coming on, and lots to do at home besides.
1882 Our Continent 27 Dec. 774/1 You must come into the parlor, for I've got lots and lots to say.
1896 G. Stables Pearl Divers iv. 36 ‘You have a nice piano there, and I'm sure you can play.’ ‘Oh yes, I can play lots.’
1923 Broadway Brevities Oct. 8/1 Boys, there was lots to that trip that would illumine the mystery.
1994 Business Week 31 Oct. 50/2 What's at stake? Lots.
2008 Independent 27 Sept. 36/4 I have lots to sort out in my east London constituency.
(b) In singular with indefinite article. Also with modifier.
ΚΠ
1845 Satirist 22 June 195/2 Lucy..chose what Fathead thought an awful lot; Pile upon pile was added to her store.
1857 F. C. Armstrong Medora (1859) ix. 57 Our gallant captain is longing to see you; but, like every one else in this part of the world, he has a lot to do, and nothing of moment.
1875 A. W. Drayson Gentleman Cadet iv. 54 Poor fellow! your friends have got a lot to answer for!
1892 ‘F. Anstey’ Trav. Compan. ii. 7 Not such a bad dinner! Expect they'll rook us a lot for it, though.
1901 ‘A. Hope’ Tristram of Blent x. 113 But, mind you, Duplay's a very superior fellow. He knows the deuce of a lot.
1938 Foreign Service Feb. 26 (caption) Many a ‘city kid’ would give a lot to swap places with these happy children.
1989 Sport Dec. 15/3 A sample of two isn't a heckuva lot to go on.
2013 Wall St. Jrnl. 26 Mar. a10/5 SOEs have a lot to offer.
19. Used adverbially.
a. Placed medially or at the end of a clause: to a great or considerable extent or degree, very much; (also) often. Cf. much adv. 1a.
(a) In plural. colloquial. Also reduplicated.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > by or to a great degree or extent
mickleseOE
mickleeOE
sevensitheOE
highOE
muchc1225
wellc1300
fara1400
goodlya1450
long?a1475
farlya1500
largea1522
muchly1621
very1641
heartily1727
lot1839
lot1855
big time1957
batshit1993
1839 F. Trollope in New Monthly Mag. Dec. 486 ‘But tell me, dearest, for pity's sake tell me, did he ever speak of me?’ ‘Lots. He asked more questions, I promise you, than we could answer.’
1864 Little Pilgrim June 79/2 You may be sure her grandma praised her ‘lots’ as Bessie said.
1881 Irish Monthly July 390 ‘If I saw that little boy, Aunt Weedy, I'd love him lots!’ said Freddy, with a world of pity in his beautiful child eyes.
1918 E. Sidgwick Jamesie ii. 154 Mother I thought about her lots and lots, simply all last night I was n't asleep.
1974 P. Haines Tea at Gunter's ii. 18 I've noticed you lots.
2002 L. Ireland When I think of You ix. 178 I enjoy it lots—but it's pretty hard work.
(b) In singular with indefinite article. Also with modifier.thanks a lot: see thank n. Phrases 1b.
ΚΠ
1872 Melbourne Punch 28 Mar. 100/1 Though no gift of gab he'd got, Yet he would think an awful lot.
1915 N.Y. Tribune 17 July 7/1 The tenants in the apartment house all pitied me a lot.
1932 Baseball Mag. Oct. 496/1 Outfield skill depends a lot on the player's quickness.
1970 R. Thorp & R. Blake Music of their Laughter 151/1 She used to get kidded an awful lot in high school.
1983 L. R. Miller & K. Gilman Horses at Work 141 Barbara and her grandfather talked alot about what they had seen.
2013 New Yorker 11 Mar. 48/1 I've been thinking about it a lot for the last twelve hours.
b. Modifying an expression of comparison, esp. a comparative adjective or adverb: to a great or considerable extent or degree; by a great or considerable number or amount. Cf. much adv. 1b, many adv.Not usually used with comparative adjectives in attributive position.
(a) In plural. colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > by or to a great degree or extent
mickleseOE
mickleeOE
sevensitheOE
highOE
muchc1225
wellc1300
fara1400
goodlya1450
long?a1475
farlya1500
largea1522
muchly1621
very1641
heartily1727
lot1839
lot1855
big time1957
batshit1993
1855 E. A. S. Eccles Riches of Poverty xxxi. 249 I shall come and talk lots more to you in the evening.
1856 R. H. Smith Emma Bartlett vii. 76 Yes, but, Adam, it will be better to have two—lots better.
1871 C. E. K. Davis Old Umbrella-man i. in Granny Bright's Blanket 240 I could sew lots faster, if you'd only let me run out doors a little while with Tom.
1927 Public Health Rep. (U.S. Public Health Service) 42 168 It is much easier, and lots safer, to use a crimper.
1952 D. Thomas Let. 21 July in Sel. Lett. (1966) 375 Now it's up to me & him to plug in lots more expenses.
2002 Baker's Catal. Jan. 34/3 Guittard's Chocolate Nonpareils..taste lots better than store-bought.
(b) In singular with indefinite article. Also with modifier.a whole lot: see whole adj., n., and adv. Phrases 8.
ΚΠ
1860 Harper's New Monthly Mag. Feb. 379/1 If he's got a harp I don't believe he can play it, for he couldn't do any thing with a jews-harp, and a harp's an awful lot harder, isn't it, mamma?
1861 St. James's Mag. 2 383 It looks a lot better.
1891 B. Stoker Snake's Pass v I remimber it..a lot higher up the mountain.
1912 C. Mathewson & J. N. Wheeler Pitching in Pinch iii. 57 He acted a lot more like an aviator in the crisis.
1961 Press-Telegram (Long Beach, Calif.) 8 Aug. a2/1 It'll make the rifle bearer a lot more comfortable.
1991 Fly Rod & Reel Mar. 47/1 When woven into a mat, Kevlar looks and acts a lot like fiberglass.
2011 MX News 26 July 10/4 University of Manchester researchers found electrons travelled a lot quicker in graphene than they did in silicon.

Phrases

P1. Phrases with fall and semantically related verbs.
a. the lot falls on—— (also the lot falls to——, and variants): —— is selected by lot, fate, etc. (to do something).In quot. c1400 †the lot limps on——: cf. limp v.1 1.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > free will > choice or choosing > types of choice > choose in specific way [verb (transitive)] > choose or get by lot > a person or thing is chosen by lot
the lot falls on——OE
OE Nativity of Virgin (Hatton) in B. Assmann Angelsächsische Homilien u. Heiligenleben (1889) 130 Ða gefeoll þæt hlot ofer Iudan cyn, Iacobes sunu.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 621 Affterr þatt hiss lott himm fell. To þewwtenn i þe temmple.
c1400 (?c1380) Patience l. 194 And ay þe lote vpon laste lymped on Jonas.
a1450 Castle Perseverance (1969) l. 2048 Þis day fallyth on us þe lot Mankynd for to schylde and schete Fro dedly synne and schamely schot.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. I. iv. 29 Then he caused lots to be cast out, to know who should be King, and the lot fell vpon the Tribe of Beniamin.
1579 T. North tr. Plutarch Liues 117 The lot fell on me to be the first to breake the Ise of this enterprise.
1633 E. Ford Montelyon x. 141 The lot fell to Arnon of Persia to beginne.
1653 H. Cogan tr. F. M. Pinto Voy. & Adventures xxix. 115 Lots were cast five times..and all those five times the lot fell still on a little Boy of seven years of age.
1785 Let. 7 June in Brookiana (1804) 80 I believed either my brother or I should have occasion to call on Mr. Brooke; the lot fell on me, and I am glad of it.
1823 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Apr. 438/1 Application was made..for another medical officer to attend on the Vizier; and the lot fell on me, as the flag-surgeon.
1855 W. H. Prescott Hist. Reign Philip II of Spain I. ii. vii. 545 The lot fell on Egmont to devise some suitable livery.
1905 Times 4 Dec. 11/2 The lot fell to J. E. Raphael, and..he executed much good work.
1988 L. Lipking Abandoned Women & Poetic Trad. ii. 49 They resolve to draw lots... The letter is torn into strips, the lot falls on Juan's tutor Pedrillo..and the feast commences.
2012 Internat. Herald Tribune (Nexis) 11 Aug. 5 ‘So the lot fell on us,’ she said of fighting nuclear arms. ‘We can do it.’
†b. to fall upon lot: to befall in turn or succession. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 1337 So as it falleth upon lot, The ferthe sterre is Alhaiot.
c. to fall to (also †in) the lot of (a person) and variants.
(a) Of goods, property, etc.: to be assigned by lot to (a person), esp. as a share of an inheritance. Now archaic and rare.
ΚΠ
?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 58 (MED) Þat cuntree es called Galilea Gentium, and it fell in þe lote of Zabulon and of Neptalim.
1564 A. Golding tr. Justinus Hist. Trogus Pompeius xvi. f. 80 Demetrius also, yelded to him thother part of Macedone that fell to the lot of his sonne in law Antipater.
1695 J. Stevens tr. M. de Faria y Sousa Portugues Asia I. iv. vii. 392 These Princes came to a Composition, parting the Territory of that City, which fell to the Lot of Hidalcam.
1722 Mem. Lit. (ed. 2) V. lxxii. 412 The King kept for himself the most considerable Lands: Others fell to the Lot of the Officers, in Proportion to their Services.
1834 R. M. Bird Calavar II. xix. 156 A daughter of the lord of Colhuacan..had fallen to the lot of Alvarado.
a1853 F. W. Robertson Serm. (1857) 3rd Ser. vii. 92 When the revenues of a cathedral or a cure fell to the lot of a monastery.
1867 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest I. v. 304 The primacy fell to the lot of Sigeric, Bishop of Ramsbury.
1901 Jerseyman Nov. 27/1 Another 111 acres went to his daughter Hannah..and the remainder, 278 acres, fell to the lot of his son Hendrick.
1986 A. T. Tibi tr. Abd Allāh Ibn Buluggīn Tibyān ii. 46 Elvira fell to Zawl's lot, while Iznajar and Jaen fell to the lot of Habus, his brother's son—my grandfather.
(b) Of a condition, situation, task, etc.: to be assigned to (a person) by fate or chance or (occasionally) by the drawing of lots. Frequently with it as anticipatory subject and to-infinitive as complement.
ΚΠ
1553 R. Burrant in tr. Preceptes Cato (new ed.) sig. M.iiiiv He knoweth that it maie aswel fal to his lotte to be in the same daunger.
1586 G. Pettie & B. Yong tr. S. Guazzo Ciuile Conuersat. (rev. ed.) iv. f. 179 Therefore let vs make triall, to whose Lot it shal befall to beare the swaie.
1657 H. Crompton Poems 106 Let it fall to your lot to be plung'd in the pot; And suffer your brains to be sacked with drinking.
1709 R. Gould Wks. II. 302 Happiest Thou! whose Lot it will befall To reach that State without being Criminal.
1759 H. Montgomery Let. 9 Aug. in J. W. Fortescue Following Drum (1931) ii. 34 The ground attack..fell to the lott of the 6 English Regts of Foot.
1799 R. Sickelmore Agnes & Leonora II. 196 Agnes..enjoyed a greater portion of real bliss than in general falls to the lot of mortals.
1808 S. T. Coleridge Lett. (1959) III. 85 But his countenance is far more intelligent, than ordinarily falls to the Lot of us Devonshire Dumplins.
1873 H. E. Roscoe in Owens Coll. Ess. & Addr. (1874) 56 Experiments on the properties of vanadium..made with much larger quantities than it fell to the lot of the Swedish chemist to work with.
1977 F. C. Koch Volga Germans (1978) iii. 60 It fell to the lot of the housewives and daughters to care for this aspect of the farm economy.
2001 Ottawa Citizen (Nexis) 5 Jan. a15 It falls to my lot to review quite a number of books written by academics.
P2. Phrases with cast, draw, and semantically related verbs.
a.
(a) to cast lots (also †lot): to throw lots (esp. into or from a receptacle) in order to make a decision, foretell the future, etc.; (more generally) to decide something by random selection. Frequently with following phrase or clause specifying the issue or question being decided.Specific methods of casting lots have varied; see note at sense 1a.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > casting of lots, sortilege > divine or decide by casting lots [verb (intransitive)]
to cast lots (also lot)a1275
cavelc1375
to draw lots (also lot)c1425
sorta1500
the mind > will > free will > choice or choosing > types of choice > make types of choice [verb (intransitive)] > choose or decide by lot
to cast lots (also lot)a1275
to draw lots (also lot)c1425
lot1483
to draw valentines?1553
draw1634
to draw a straw or straws1832
to draw short and long1870
a1275 Body & Soul (Trin. Cambr. B.14.39) l. 27 in A. S. M. Clark Seint Maregrete & Body & Soul (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Michigan) (1972) 119 Maked he habit hore lotes of mi fles to kasten.
a1300 Passion our Lord 447 in R. Morris Old Eng. Misc. (1872) 50 Ac hi casten heore lot, hwes he scolde beo.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) 1 Kings xiv. 42 Leiþ lot betwen [1535 Coverdale Cast the lot ouer, 1611 King James Cast lots betweene] me & Jonathan my sone.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 124 Lotes did þei kast, for whom þei had þat wo.
a1500 Partenay (Trin. Cambr.) l. 3184 Thay haue caste ther loote certes you vppon.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 455 The French men..had diuided the prisoners and spoyles among them, and had cast lottes for them.
1611 Bible (King James) Neh. xi. 1 The rest of the people also cast lots, to bring one of tenne, to dwell in Ierusalem. View more context for this quotation
1662 J. A. Comenius Janua Linguarum Trilinguis lx. 160/1 The Sorcerer by casting lots foretold things to come.
1720 J. Burchett Compl. Hist. Trans. at Sea iii. xix. 391 That the Regiments should cast Lots which of them should go on shore first.
1725 W. Broome in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey III. xiv. Observ. 350 The Sons cast lots for their patrimony.
1813 J. Hogg Queen's Wake Introd. 28 Their numbers given, the lots were cast, To fix the names of first and last.
1840 J. H. Newman Parochial Serm. V. xviii. 296 Supposing we had to cast lots for some worldly benefit.
1943 H. J. Massingham Men of Earth iii. 31 When the lots were cast, each new owner took his scythe and ‘made his pitch’.
2006 Irish Times (Nexis) 9 Dec. 22 They cast lots for who gets to patrol the prime spots and who has to wait for clients in the restaurant.
(b) to draw lots (also †lot): to select one or more of a set of lots from a receptacle at random, in order to make a decision, foretell the future, etc.; (more generally) to decide something by random selection. Frequently with following phrase or clause specifying the issue or question being decided. Cf. to draw straws at straw n.1 5h, to draw cuts at cut n.1 1a.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > casting of lots, sortilege > divine or decide by casting lots [verb (intransitive)]
to cast lots (also lot)a1275
cavelc1375
to draw lots (also lot)c1425
sorta1500
the mind > will > free will > choice or choosing > types of choice > make types of choice [verb (intransitive)] > choose or decide by lot
to cast lots (also lot)a1275
to draw lots (also lot)c1425
lot1483
to draw valentines?1553
draw1634
to draw a straw or straws1832
to draw short and long1870
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) v. l. 1631 (MED) On þe morwe, lik as þe lot be drawe, Eueryche of hem vndirfonge his lawe.
c1460 (?c1400) Tale of Beryn Prol. l. 703 Wee shuld now be-gyn [for] to draw [en] lott.
c1500 (?a1475) Assembly of Gods (1896) l. 1569 (MED) Mathy and Barnabe, drawyng lottys, stood.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 526/2 I drawe lottes, or drawe cuttes, as folkes do for sporte, je joue au court festu [short straw].
1596 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1848) II. 146 For effectuating therof, the persones..convenit nominat the..prouest to draw the lott for thame.
1639 in Rec. Parl. Scotl. to 1707 (2007) C1639/8/37 Act ordaining the commissioners of shyris to draw lottis and valentines yeirlie at ilk parliament for their places.
1699 J. Somers in Remarks Eminent Antimonarchical Authors i. 71 Can he prove..that ever in England they balloted for the Crown, or drew Lots for the Kingdom.
1725 H. Bourne Antiquitates Vulgares xx. 174 It is a Ceremony, never omitted among the Vulgar, to draw Lots, which they Term Valentines, on the Eve before Valentine-day.
1744 in Colonial Rec. Pennsylvania (1851) IV. 722 The several Nations had drawn Lots for the performance of the Ceremony.
1826 J. Banim Boyne Water II. xi. 328 Your goodmen fat fellows, especially your aldermen, shall first draw lot, by the rood!
1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) III. 341 Some ingenious kind of lots which the less worthy may draw.
1905 in Westm. Gaz. 5 Oct. 12/1 All the young men of the Empire..[have] to appear at the recruiting offices and draw lots.
1976 S. Lloyd Mr Speaker, Sir iii. 93 The Speaker..cannot adopt the Swedish practice under which, when the votes are equal, the Talsmand of the Riksdag has to draw lots.
2001 M. Hughes et al. World Food: India 116 Groups of women..draw lots to see who will get the kitty and the responsibility of hosting the next lunch.
b. to cast (also throw) in one's lot with and variants: to associate with and share the fortunes of.Originally in Proverbs i. 14 (see quots. a1382, 1535), where the expression has a literal sense, with reference to partition of plunder.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > association, fellowship, or companionship > associate with [phrase]
to run with ——c1350
to cast (also throw) in one's lot with1535
to cast in one's lot among or with1535
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Prov. i. 14 Lot ley with vs [L. sortem mitte nobiscum], o bagge of monee be of vs alle.
a1450 Castle Perseverance (1969) l. 2891 Whyl I leyd wyth hym my lott ȝe seyn whou fayre he me behott.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Prov. i. A Cast in thy lott amonge us, we shal haue all one purse.
1612 T. Sorocold Supplic. Saints (ed. 3) ii. 244 Keepe mee from lewde company, that I cast not in my lotte with them, to be partaker of their wickednes.
1678 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress 6 I intend to go along with this good man, and to cast in my lot with him. View more context for this quotation
1769 J. Wesley Let. 5 Nov. (1931) V. 153 But if you are willing to cast in your lot with us, [etc.].
1796 Protestant Dissenter's Mag. Feb. 70 They could not conform to the establishment, and so cast in their lot with us.
1834 T. P. Thompson Exercises (1842) III. 39 She [sc. England] must abide the chances with those with whom she hast cast in her lot.
1870 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (ed. 2) I. App. 691 We..find East-Anglia heartily throwing in its lot with Wessex.
1919 V. Woolf Night & Day (1920) xx. 265 All this had never struck her so clearly as it did this afternoon, when she felt that her lot was cast with them for ever.
1984 B. Breytenbach Mouroir 144 It is his intention to..throw in his lot with the guerilla movement.
2013 Austral. Financial Rev. (Nexis) 27 May 44 As the rest of the world's equity markets crumbled, local investors cast in their lot with domestic-focused companies.
c. the (also one's) lot is cast and variants: an event has happened or a decision has been made that cannot be changed; one's fate is determined. Cf. the die is cast at die n.1 Phrases 3. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > the decisive step is taken [phrase]
the lot is cast1607
the die is cast1634
1607 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Serres in tr. Gen. Inuentorie Hist. France ii. 83 They crose Adelphonse in countermanding of Charles but the lots were cast, his army is in field, and he resolute to passe on.
1682 T. Otway Venice Preserv'd iv. 44 Now the Lot's cast, and Fate doe what thou wilt.
1702 C. Mather Magnalia Christi vi. i. 4 The Lot is cast; one of the Company is taken; but where is the Executioner that shall do the terrible Office upon a poor Innocent?
1855 R. Browning Statue & Bust in Men & Women I. 160 Calmly he said that her lot was cast, That the door she had passed was shut on her Till the final catafalk repassed.
1996 M. A. Rothstein in F. B. Rudolph & L. V. McIntire Biotechnology xvii. 205 Will we subscribe to determinism (our destiny is in our genes, my lot is cast)?
P3. Phrases with prepositions.
a. (In sense 1b.) by lot (also lots): by the action of drawing or casting lots; (more generally) by random selection or allocation.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > causation > chance or causelessness > [adverb]
feringc1000
feringlya1300
by casec1300
chancefully1303
lotc1325
peradventurec1325
of chance1330
happilya1375
in hapa1375
upon hapsa1375
casuallyc1384
perchancec1387
chancely1389
by fortune1390
haplyc1390
by (also of) adventurea1393
percasea1393
adventurelyc1400
percase1402
accidently?a1425
adventurously1440
by (good, lucky, etc.) hap?a1450
accidentally1528
chanceably1559
bechance1569
chance1595
casual-wise1601
accidental1622
occasionally1622
fortuitouslya1652
contingently1668
by chance1669
chanceable1709
per-hazard1788
chance-wise1844
the mind > will > free will > choice or choosing > types of choice > choice [phrase] > by lot
lotc1325
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 2415 Þe stalworþest me ssal bi choys & bi lot al so Chese out.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1961) Num. xxxiii. 54 Þe which ȝe shal deuyde to ȝow by loot.
?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1874) V. 263 (MED) Sende peple furthe from theire cuntre by chaunce and lotte.
1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes i, in Wks. 165/1 Why shoulde not I in such perplexed case after helpe called for of God, take the one parte at aduenture by Lot?
a1591 H. Smith 6 Serm. (1592) 166 Mathias is chosen by lots, to the Apostleship.
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxx. 184 Good Counsell comes not by Lot, nor by Inheritance.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 561 Gabriel, to thee thy cours by Lot hath giv'n Charge and strict watch that to this happie place No evil thing approach or enter in. View more context for this quotation
1719 State Proc. Corporation of Governours Bounty of Queen Anne i. 18 To Livings not exceeding Ten Pounds per Annum by Lot, two whereof were Crown Livings.
1730 N. Bailey et al. Dictionarium Britannicum Sortilege, a Soothsaying or Divination by Lots; also an Electing by casting of Lots.
1785 W. Paley Princ. Moral & Polit. Philos. vi. viii. 504 The judge is determined by lot at the time of the trial.
1802 W. Paley Nat. Theol. xxvi. 552 The distribution of provision may be made by lot, as it is in a sailor's mess.
1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) V. 125 The ancients knew that election by lot was the most democratic of all modes of appointment.
1921 E. B. Turner in E. H. D. Sewell Rugby Football up to Date xiv. 244 The teams which entered being drawn in ties, and those left in after each round being again paired by lot until only two were left in the final.
1973 A. E. Goodman Politics in War vii. 170 Individual houses were chosen by lots.
2004 Observer (Nexis) 8 Aug. 9 Though they choose their jockeys, the horses are distributed by lot.
b. In senses of branch III.
(a) U.S. colloquial. all over the lot: everywhere, in every direction; throughout an area; widely scattered; (hence figurative) in a disordered or aimless manner; lacking a clear focus or direction. Cf. all over the place at place n.1 Phrases 2e.
ΚΠ
1806 Connecticut Evangelical Mag. Oct. 142 To see the lofty trees of the forest hewn down and piled in heaps all over the lot to be burnt.
1834 New-Hampsh. Statesman & State Jrnl. 20 Dec. After chasing the critter all over the lot, he knocked him in the head and at the same time knocked the breath out of his body.
1840 Boston Morning Post 2 Nov. Mr Reed..then rambled all over the lot in a most desultory, and discursive, and certainly incoherent style.
1890 Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Evening Gaz. 14 July 3/2 Dubuque only found Briggs for three safe hits, while Kennedy was hammered all over the lot, the home team making thirteen singles and three doubles off his delivery.
1939 A. G. Hays Democracy Works xi. 313 Your ideas are diverse and diffused and spread all over the lot.
1988 Sci. News 12 Mar. 173/2 ‘It's better to have pretty powerful computers all over the lot,’ he says, than to have a smaller number of large supercomputers that have to be shared by many individuals.
2004 Washington Post (Nexis) 11 Jan. a4 He's all over the lot on Iraq, he's all over the lot on Medicare, he's all over the lot on the Iowa caucuses.
2014 Gannett News Service (Nexis) 17 June If I start spraying it all over the lot and not hitting it that great, at least my short game is solid.
(b) U.S. colloquial.
(i) across lots: across fields or empty plots of land, esp. as a short cut; by the quickest or shortest route (literal and figurative); directly. Cf. cross-lots adv. Now somewhat rare.
ΚΠ
1817 Maryland Herald 2 Apr. The other entered from the redoubt, ran across the lots through Mr Tuttle's barn yard to Main-street,..and then across lots to Front-street.
1833 Genesee (Rochester, N.Y.) Farmer 21 Dec. 401/3 A common fence, though eight rails high and double ridered, is no bar to the practice of steering across lots.
1881 T. L. Haines & L. W. Yaggy Royal Path of Life 13 Men are seen going across-lots to fortune; and a poor business many of them make of it.
1969 in H. Halpert & G. M. Story Christmas Mumming in Newfoundland 174 Then commenced the chase, up lanes, ‘across lots’, down lanes.
2014 Times of Shrewsbury (Vermont) Sept. 4/2 Our house is less than half the roadway distance if you go across lots.
(ii) to go to hell (also the devil) across lots: to go straight to hell. to send to hell across lots: to send straight to hell; to kill. Now rare.First recorded in reports of speeches by Brigham Young, second leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; now chiefly in reference or allusion to such usage.
ΚΠ
1853 B. Young in Deseret News (Great Salt Lake City, Utah Territory) 2 Apr. [I dreamed that] I..cut one of their throats from ear to ear, saying go to hell across lots.
1855 Goshen (Indiana) Democrat 23 May The fear..of being ‘sent to hell across lots’, as Brigham classically expresses it, deters them from such a course.
1873 J. Miller Life amongst Modocs viii. 120 Keep your distance, you Sydney duck,..or I will send you to hell across lots in a second.
1901 J. H. Wilkins Glimpse of Old Mexico 8 If there was a land on earth that seemed to be going to the devil across lots,..Mexico was certainly that one.
1942 W. Stegner Mormon Country 144 They were always offering to send their enemies to hell across lots.
2012 S. Dallas True Sisters 90 ‘They'll go to hell across lots,’ the Danite prophesied, and went to stand by himself, scowling at the Saints.
P4.
a. to have (also †win) lot: (with in, of, with, †mid) to have a share or part in something; to share something with or have dealings with a person. Also with coordinate noun, as †to have lot and cavel (cf. cavel n.1 2), †to have lot and dole (cf. dole n.1 3). Frequently in negative constructions. Now rare.Compare discussion of to have lot and cavel in the etymology section.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > sharing > share [verb (transitive)] > have a share with
to have lotlOE
lOE St. Margaret (Corpus Cambr.) (1994) 170 Gif þu nylt me ofslean, nafa þu nan hlot mid me on heofene rice.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 9847 & winnenn lott wiþþ abraham Off eche blisse inn heoffne.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 4030 Ȝiff þatt teȝȝ wolldenn habbenn lott Wiþþ himm inn eche blisse.
a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 111 Nis non mihte on godes temple ðat ne hafþ lott and dole mid ðessere eadiȝe mihte.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 263 For alswa as þe vuele nabbeð na lot inheouene. ne þe gode nabbeð nan lot ineorðe.
a1250 Ureisun ure Louerde (Lamb.) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 187 Hwa se euer wule habbe lot wiþ þe of þi blisse, he mot deale wiþ þe of þine pine on eorþe.
?c1450 Burgh Lawis in Anc. Laws & Customs Burghs Scotl. (1868) 26 Na stallangear may hafe na tym loth cut or cavyll [L. habere loth cut neque cavyl] with a burges of ony maner of merchandise.
1646 A. Jackson Annot. Hist. Part Old Test. (Judges i.) 96 Being appointed to have their lot with Judah, having formerly dwelt in their tents in the countrey about Jericho.
1915 Dial 30 Sept. 272/2 They sit no more at familiar tables of home; They have no lot in our labour of the day-time; They sleep beyond England's foam.
b. spec. to have neither (also no) part nor lot in and variants: to have no share of or concern in; to have nothing to do with. Cf. part n.1 10a. Now somewhat archaic. [Apparently originally with allusion to Acts 8:21 (compare quot. 1611); compare post-classical Latin non est tibi pars neque sors in sermone isto (Vulgate, Acts 8:21) and its model Hellenistic Greek οὐκ ἔστιν σοι μερὶς οὐδὲ κλῆρος ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τούτῳ, perhaps itself after οὐκ..μερὶς και κλῆρος (Septuagint: Deuteronomy 10:9, etc.), translating a different pairing in the Hebrew text.]
ΚΠ
c1425 Prose Versions New Test.: Deeds (Cambr.) (1904) viii. 21 (MED) Neþer þow haueste parte ne lote in þis worde, for soþely þi hertte es noghte rightwise bifore God.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 277 The preestis and dekenes of the Oold Testament schulden not haue part and lott in the firste parting of the lond of Iewry.
1611 Bible (King James) Acts viii. 21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter. View more context for this quotation
1706 Rev. State Eng. Nation 2 Jan. 627/2 All you then, that have not a Voice in an Election, are meer Rebels, Rioters, Thieves, Sowers of Sedition, and what not; for you have no Lot nor Part in this Matter.
1793 Patriot 5 If, as he says, he is a subject of America, he has neither part nor lot in this matter, which lies between our fathers and us.
1825 T. B. Macaulay Milton in Edinb. Rev. Aug. 340 Having neither part nor lot in human infirmities.
1833 H. Martineau Cinnamon & Pearls vi. 102 Rayo and his countrymen had no part nor lot in the harvests of their native land.
1873 Westm. Rev. Apr. 510 In neither of these classification societies have the immense sea assurance interests of this city outside Lloyd's..either part or lot, or the smallest voice, vote, or control.
1926 Record (United Free Church Scotl.) Apr. 184/1 Gin ye dinna tak' yer paiks the now, it's neither part nor lot ye'll hae wi' us.
2007 Afr. News (Nexis) 29 Apr. The President..declared that the Upper legislative Chamber has neither part nor lot in the elections.
†P5. to give (something) in (also to) lot to and variants: to allot (something) to. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) 1 Chron. vi. 63 To þe sones..of Merary..of þe lynage of ȝabulon þei ȝeeuen lottis [a1425 L.V. bi lottis; L. sorte] twelue citis.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 10385 To godd þe lambes he gaf to lottes.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 6964 In a land þat hight sichim, Was gin in loth to ioseph kin [Fairf. was giuen to loth Ioseph kin].
†P6. to put (money) in lot: (perhaps) to put (money) into a joint venture or speculation. Obsolete. rare. [Perhaps compare classical Latin sors basic capital (without interest) (see sort n.1).]
ΚΠ
1594 T. Blundeville Exercises i. xii. f. 15v Foure Marchants did put their mony in lot in this manner.
P7. to put (something) to the lot and variants: to decide (a question) by drawing or casting lots.
ΚΠ
1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 1110 When there was to be chosen the most valiant warrior.., [he] committed the election unto fortune, and put all to the lot.
1642 R. Harris Serm. preached to House of Commons 43 Let's put it to the Lot.
1678 N. Wanley Wonders Little World iv. liv. 460/1 There was difficulty in the choice, and he having a soul very superstitious, put that to the lot which he could not resolve by reason.
1703 S. Sewall Diary 22 Mar. (1973) I. 483 Mr. Banister and I Lotted our Fence on Cotton-Hill:..He chose to put it to Lot.
1753 tr. A. Frey True & Authentic Acct. 12 Christopher Bauss also travelled with us so far: it was twice put to the Lot whether he should go or no; and the Lot both times answered in the Affirmative.
1830 Monthly Repos. Aug. 536 The Conference..put the question to the lot; it was decided that the Lord's Supper should not be administered for the current year.
1871 Q. Jrnl. Prophecy Jan. 75 Let us recall what befell the people of Jehovah on that day when they put to the lot the important question of a division of the land among the twelve tribes.
2000 E. W. Sommer Serving Two Masters iv. 91 Zinzendorf and the Unity Elders Conference continually maintained that questions were to be put to the lot..only after careful deliberation.
P8. colloquial (originally and chiefly British). that's (also it's) your lot, you've had your lot: you have had your chance (and lost it); you are in trouble; ‘you've had it’. Also (now chiefly): you have had all that you are going to receive; there is no more. Also occasionally in the first or third person.
ΚΠ
1948 R. Harrison Whitehall 1212 vii. 82 ‘This is a stick-up,’ said the voice. ‘Keep your —— mouth shut or it's your lot.’
1955 Rubber Jrnl. 23 Apr. 518/1 The Budget..gives a small measure of relief in income tax and grants a purchase tax concession..on certain household textiles. ‘And’—as comedian Jimmy Wheeler says—‘that's yer lot.’
1956 North Adams (Mass.) Transcript 20 June 6/5 These rather crude planes move all the mass of delegations and missions around the vast country, though there is a saying among English-speaking people, ‘Fly Aeroflot and you've had your lot.’
1968 A. Chambers Chicken Run i. v. 28 You got to have a good bike, or that's your lot.
1973 Times 12 Dec. 2/7 Hate slogans scrawled on a blackboard. One read, ‘Tina Wilson is going to be done over’, and another, ‘Tina Wilson has had her lot tonight’.
1984 D. Cannell Thin Woman x. 115 I promised him twenty quid but that's his lot.
1996 Independent on Sunday (Nexis) 7 Jan. (Review Suppl.) 30 Who do you think you are? You've had your lot. I'm in charge of this column. Sod off.
1998 I. Welsh Filth 330 He's gone for a second or two and returns, producing a gram.—That's it Bruce, that's my lot.
2009 B. Arndt Sex Diaries ii. 23 One might give the other a quick feel in the shower along with the quip, ‘Well, that's your lot for the week.’

Compounds

C1. Objective (in senses 1 and 2) with agent nouns, verbal nouns, and participles, as lot-casting, lot-drawing, lot-caster, lot-drawer, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > casting of lots, sortilege > [noun]
cavellingc1375
sortc1386
sortilegea1387
sortilegya1387
lot-casting1569
lottery1570
cleromancy1610
sortiary1653
draught1807
the mind > will > free will > choice or choosing > types of choice > [adjective] > casting lots
lot-casting1569
sortilegious1603
1569 J. Sanford tr. H. C. Agrippa Of Vanitie Artes & Sci. i. f. 2v A lotcastinge Arithmetician [L. arithmeticum sortilegum].
1586 T. Newton tr. L. Daneau Treat. Dyceplay ix. in tr. L. Daneau True & Christian Friendshippe sig. G2 In Lotte casting (in which kinde (doubtlesse) Dyceplaye is contained), wee ought not..to vse vaine and ydle matters [etc.].
a1626 L. Andrewes XCVI Serm. (1629) sig. Ssssv The lott turned upon the lott-caster.
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) 282 Mr. Hedly (who first motioned Lot-drawing).
1713 R. Wodrow Let. 2 July in Corr. (1842) I. 474 The women and Mary probably joined in the prayer, though, indeed, not in the lot casting.
1842 Chambers's Edinb. Jrnl. 27 Aug. 251/3 A cubical morsel of black beef-steak..fell to the lot of the unsuccessful yet not least fortunate lot drawer.
1911 O. M. Dalton Byzantine Art & Archaeol. iii. 144 A very interesting representation of the lot-casting urn used for deciding the positions of the drivers.
2013 Australian (Nexis) 27 Dec. 6 Candidates from at least 27 parties took part in the lot-drawing process.
C2.
lot attendant n. chiefly North American a person employed as an attendant in a car park or car lot.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > selling > seller > [noun] > shopkeeper > shopworkers
shopman1662
window clerk1770
clerka1790
shop attendant1813
shoppie1818
shop assistant1821
shop-walker1825
counter-jumper1829
show-woman1848
assistant1853
counterman1853
counter-skipper1858
floor-walker1876
floor manager1887
window man1887
frontsman1896
inworker1909
lot attendant1934
sales clerk1934
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > testing, servicing, and storage of motor vehicles > [noun] > land used for parking > attendant
lot attendant1934
1934 Galveston (Texas) Tribune 10 Aug. 1/7 The two men walked into the lot, entered a machine and started to drive out. Leroy Augustat, 26, lot attendant, was shot to death.
1979 Arizona Daily Star 5 Aug. (Advt. section) 2/6 Lot Attendant for used car lot. Apply in person.
2013 Charleston (W. Va.) Gaz. (Nexis) 29 Dec. 1 He started working for Home Depot in his late 20s or early 30s as a lot attendant—pulling carts in from the parking area.
lot gate n. U.S. the gate of a field or enclosure for animals.
ΚΠ
1854 Spirit of Times 12 Aug. 305/3 The lot gate was open and they [sc. the horses] ran into it.
1871 Nineteenth Cent. Feb. 106 I hear the tramping of horse's feet at the lot gate; go and see, Robert, if Mr. Norman's horse is there.
1929 W. Faulkner Sartoris iv. 281 Restless hounds waited for them at the lot gate.
1983 Hudson Rev. 36 271 She could see Kevin Stoner as a boy, moving about some rickety Virginia farm, a bucket of chicken feed in his hand, sliding back the latch of a lot gate.
2008 R. L. Smith Gone to Swamp 40 Dad had seen the pair [of oxen] and had driven ahead to open the lot gate.
lot holder n. now chiefly North American and Australian a person who owns or rents a plot of land.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > possessor > [noun] > owner > landowner > one who owns plot
lot holder1741
plotter1927
1741 B. Martyn Acct. shewing Progress Colony of Georgia 6 These Duties..would become very burthensome to the remaining Male Lot-holders.
1852 G. Grote Hist. Greece X. ii. lxxix. 407 Many kleruchs, or lot-holders, were sent out to occupy lands both at Samos and in the Chersonese.
1915 U. Pennsylvania Law Rev. & Amer. Law Reg. 63 266 The lotholder filed a bill in equity for an injunction.
2009 Courier Mail (Brisbane) (Nexis) 25 Apr. 6 Each building lot is individually owned with freehold title, as well as 146 hectares of parkland owned in common by all lot holders.
lot jumper n. U.S. (now historical) a person who takes summary possession of a plot of land, usually on the grounds that it has been abandoned or forfeited by its former occupant; cf. jump v. 9b, claim-jumper n. at claim n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > taking possession > [noun] > of land > summary > one who
claim-jumper1839
jumper1855
lot jumper1868
1868 Cheyenne (Wyoming) Leader 27 Mar. 1/2 The Star, that mouthpiece of the lawless element of our community, lot-jumpers, political sore-heads, mob spirits and kindred personages.
1931 G. F. Willison Here they dug Gold 241 Counterfeiters, lot-jumpers, mine-jumpers,..and ruffians in general.
2012 P. L. Johnson McLaurys in Tombstone, Arizona xvi. 119 The empty lots were an open invitation for lot jumpers to move in and squat valuable town lots in the commercial district.
lot-layer n. North American (historical after early 18th cent.) an official who apportions plots of land to settlers; cf. lotter n. 1.
ΚΠ
1636 Ipswich (Mass.) Rec. 26 Feb. Appointed to assist the lott Layers in laying out Mr. Dudley's..farmes.
1723 in Coll. New Hampsh. Hist. Soc. (1863) VII. 349 Town-officers, consisting of a clerk, three selectmen, three lot-layers, and a constable.
1897 E. A. Bowen Lineage of Bowens of Woodstock, Conn. App. 202 He was present at the first meeting of the proprietors of the town, and was then chosen a ‘lot-layer’ and one of a committee to confirm grants of land.
2008 R. C. Harris Reluctant Land vii. 165 It would hire the agents to negotiate the terms of a land grant and, in some cases, a lot-layer to survey it.
lot-lead n. Mining (now historical) (with reference to lead mining in the Mendip Hills in Somerset) one tenth of the lead ore extracted from a mine, paid as a royalty to the mine's owner; cf. sense 7b.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for privilege > [noun] > of taking minerals
sand-mail1287
lot-leada1483
lot1630
cope1631
sand-gavel1663
lordship1767
gale1775
tribute1778
royalty1839
groundage1852
seignioragea1859
galeage1881
a1483 Mendip Laws in W. Phelps Hist. & Antiq. Somersetshire (1839) II. 6 So that he doth..pay his lott lead, which is the tenth pound which shall be blown on the hearth or hearths.
1591 in Trans. Inst. Mining Engin. 20 (1902) 548 It Is Found by Ancient Custome of Mendip that every Workman ought to receive of the Lead Reeves, or one of them, one Faile to be Cut out of ye Store of ye Lott Lead, which they & every of them do weigh, the Stock to remain with ye Lead Reeves.
1868 C. I. Elton Treat. Commons & Waste Lands vii. 112 It was said, in an old case, that in the great waste or common called Mendip are divers ‘grooves’ and mines of lead, for which any man may dig on payment of one-tenth part by the name of lot-lead to the lord of the manor of Wells.
1998 Brit. Mining No. 61. 134 The returns of lot-lead on the Mendip between 1602 and 1666 are given in tons, hundredweights and pounds.
lot-mead n. now historical and rare = lot-meadow n. [Earlier currency is apparently implied by use in field names: compare Lotmede, Cumnor (1349; now Lot Mead), Lotemede, Earley (1461–83, now lost), Lotmede, Englefield (1543; now lost), all in Berkshire.]
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > farm > farmland > grassland > [noun] > meadow land > meadow > other meadows
stank-meadowc1358
lot-mead1552
lot-meadow1605
saeter1795
shade1806
rodham1882
1552 in Drayton Papers (MS Christ Church Oxf. Arch.) In quodam parto ibidem vocato lotte meade subtus Merton.
1553 Stanford Churchwardens' Accts. in Antiquary (1888) 17 117/2 For grasse in the loot mede yt belongythe to ye churche ijs.
a1697 J. Aubrey Wiltshire (1862) 198 Here [i.e. at Wanborough] is a Lott-Mead celebrated yearly with great ceremony.
1753 Act exchanging Lands in Manor & Parish of Eastlech-Martin 4 All that Piece or Parcel of Meadow, or Pasture Ground, in the Lot Mead, containing Sixteen Acres.
1896 G. L. Gomme Village Community ix. 266 In England there are examples of the distribution by annual allotment of arable lands and of meadow lands, the latter well known by the name of lot meads.
1902 Home Counties Mag. 4 305 No tradition of such festivities in connection with the Newbury Lot Mead exists, only the name and the allotment survive.
1931 R. A. Firor Folkways in Thomas Hardy ii. 50 Aubrey tells us that lot-meads still existed in the England of his day.
lot-meadow n. historical after late 19th cent. a meadow owned by several people and divided into sections which are assigned annually by lot; also as a mass noun.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > farm > farmland > grassland > [noun] > meadow land > meadow > other meadows
stank-meadowc1358
lot-mead1552
lot-meadow1605
saeter1795
shade1806
rodham1882
1605 in F. W. Maitland Domesday Bk. & Beyond (1897) iii. 381 The particulars whereof soe far as knowne doe plainelye appeare in the platte and those which are unknowne, as wastes comons and lotte meadowes are equallye divided betweene them.
1675 W. Leonard 4th Pt. Rep. Cases of Law iv. 43 Where many have Lot-Meadow to be divided every year by lot who shall have the Grass of such an Acre, and who of such an Acre, &c.
1794 G. Turner Gen. View Agric. Gloucester 41 Here..there is a considerable quantity of lot meadow, which is common after hay-making.
1878 G. R. L. Marriott tr. E. de Laveleye Primitive Prop. 114 In many English villages meadows are still found divided into parts, which are annually assigned by lot among the co-partners. These are called lot meadows or lammas land.
1943 H. J. Massingham Men of Earth iii. 25 I went over to Yarnton..to see if I could pick up any memories of the dividing-up of the lot-meadows.
2014 D. Hall Open Fields Eng. i. 18 The lot meadows of Paulerspury..were divided into eight parts.
lot money n. now rare money paid to an auctioneer on completion of a sale.
ΚΠ
1725 London Gaz. No. 6363/2 The Buyer is to pay down in Part Five Guineas each Lott, and the Goods are to be taken away..on or before the 21st of May.., or the Lott-Money forfeited.
1810 E. H. East Rep. Cases King's Bench 11 211 The commissioners to be at liberty to resell any lots belonging to defaulters... 2s. above 25l. lot-money to be paid by the buyer to the auctioneer.
2007 G. D. Banerjee & S. Banerjee Darjeeling Tea xxvii. 367 In the South there is no commission payable by the buyers to the brokers but there is a system of ‘lot money’.
† lot-monger n. Obsolete depreciative a person who draws or casts lots; one who practises sortilege.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > casting of lots, sortilege > [noun] > one who practises
sortilegerc1475
sortilege1483
lot-monger1549
sortiary1652
1549 T. Chaloner tr. Erasmus Praise of Folie sig. Rivv That law was fyrste ordeined against lottemongers [L. sortilegos], enchaunters, and sorcerers.
1623 J. Balmford Modest Reply Gataker 64 I wonder, why Mr. G. should say here, Lottery in game is not any where forbidden as evill in it selfe... Now Lot-mongers will choppe Logicke, and say, What if a lusorious Lotte be forbidden by iust consequence?
lot number n. (a) an identification number assigned to a particular plot of land; (b) an identification number or code assigned to a batch of products, an item for sale at an auction, etc.
ΚΠ
1854 M. E. Curwen Public Statutes Ohio III. Index 2688/2 Revision of town lot numbers.
1921 Amer. City June 596/2 The lots within each block are numbered consecutively, allowing one lot number for each 25 feet.
1928 C. E. Cowley Classing Clip 165 Small lots are indicated to the buyers by an asterisk being prefixed to the lot number.
1960 Pop. Mech. May 64/2 On sale day, a fast-talking auctioneer sells lots at the rate of 100 per hour, with bidding done by lot number.
2006 Esquire Sept. 30/4 The lot number 501 is allocated to Levi's top-of-the-range ‘waist overalls’, made from Amoskeag denim.
† lot-pot n. Obsolete an urn from which lots are shaken or drawn; cf. lottery pot n. (a) at lottery n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > free will > choice or choosing > types of choice > [noun] > choosing by casting lots > object used in > container for
urn1513
lot-pot1603
lottery pot1629
1603 J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. i. xix. 31 Of all Shak't is the lot-pot [L. omnium versatur urna (Horace Odes 2. 3. 26)].
1619 T. Gataker Of Nature & Use Lots i. 4 The tickets or tokens that were cast into the Lot-pot.
lot seller n. †(a) a person who sells sets of miscellaneous items (obsolete rare); (b) chiefly North American a person who sells plots of land.
ΚΠ
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 447/2 The Lot-sellers proper, are those who vend a variety of small articles, or ‘a lot’, all for 1d.
1865 Frank Leslie's Illustr. Newspaper 21 Jan. The oils I sing!.. No matter where you bore they'll spring—If what lot sellers say be true.
1997 Washington Post 10 May e10/2 The appraisal will be valuable for showing to the lot seller to justify your purchase offer.
lot selling n. †(a) the practice of selling sets of miscellaneous items (obsolete rare); (b) chiefly North American the selling of plots of land.
ΚΠ
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 447/2 The origin of ‘lot-selling’, or selling ‘penny lots’ instead of penny articles, was more curious.
1883 Chicago's First Half Cent. xiv. 174/1 Lot-selling and house-building in the normal state of communities go hand in hand.
1935 Calif. Hist. Soc. Q. 14 216 The method of lot-selling was simply a marking and reserving by the purchaser on a map which was presented to all arrivals without discrimination.
2006 T. E. Sheridan Landscapes of Fraud (2007) ix. 230 By 1997, Avatar had largely abandoned the sluggish lot-selling business.
† lot-teller n. [after classical Latin sortilegus sortilege n.2] Obsolete rare a person who predicts the future by drawing or casting lots; a fortune-teller.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > fortune-telling > [noun] > fortune-teller
spaeman?a1505
cole-prophet1532
lot-teller1575
fortune-teller1612
fortune-flinger1642
fatary1652
fatiloquist1652
fortunary1652
fortune-speller1652
tea-groutera1833
tick-off1934
1575 tr. L. Daneau (title) A dialogue of witches, in foretime named lot-tellers [L. sortilegos], and now commonly called sorcerers.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2015; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

lotv.

Brit. /lɒt/, U.S. /lɑt/
Forms: late Middle English lote, late Middle English– lot, 1500s lott, 1800s– 'lot; Scottish pre-1700 loit, pre-1700 loitt, pre-1700 lote, pre-1700 lott.
Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: lot n.
Etymology: < lot n. Compare Old Frisian hlotia , lotia , hlōtia , Middle Dutch loten (Dutch loten ), Middle Low German lōten , lotten , Middle High German lōzen (German losen ), Old Icelandic hluta , Old Swedish luta , lota (Swedish lotta ), Old Danish lotæ (Danish lodde ), and also ( < a West Germanic language) post-classical Latin lottare to pay lot (frequently from 1200 in British sources), Anglo-Norman lotter , Anglo-Norman and Middle French loter , lotir (French lotir ) to draw (lots) (late 12th cent. in Anglo-Norman), to draw lots (13th cent. or earlier), to select (someone) by lot (c1350), and (in loter e escoter , escoter e loter ) to assess (someone) for municipal taxes (a1307 or earlier), to pay municipal taxes (mid 14th cent. or earlier). Compare allot v. With sense 2 compare to lot and scot at scot v. 3.In later use (especially in form 'lot) sometimes reinterpreted as aphetic < allot v. Compare Old English hlēotan to cast lots, to obtain (especially by lot) (see lot n.), and also prefixed gehlēotan to obtain (especially by lot), to be allotted, to allot (compare y- prefix), which survives into early Middle English as ilēoten, chiefly in passive as bēn iloten to be appointed, to be assigned, to be fated.
1.
a. transitive. To assign (a share, portion, etc.); to assign (a particular fate or lot); (also with out) to apportion, allocate, allot. Usually with to or indirect object. Now archaic or colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > giving > distributing or dealing out > distribute or deal out [verb (transitive)] > assign or allot > to a person as his share
britOE
dealc1400
lotc1400
allow?c1450
allot1473
proportion1581
apportion1587
portion1587
share1596
allocate1616
locate1816
c1400 Prose Versions New Test.: Deeds (Selwyn) i. 17 f. 86v Iudas..þe whuche was noumbred in us..& he is lottud [L. sortitus est] in þe lot of þis pryuyte.
1524 T. Wolsey Let. to Hen. VIII in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1816) I. iv. 93 Your archers shall be lotted and appointed..to every part.
1562 R. Eden Let. in E. Arber 1st Three Eng. Bks. on Amer. (1885) p. xliii/2 xxli therof to be lotted to me for an earnest penye to begynne the booke.
1594 R. Carew tr. J. Huarte Exam. Mens Wits xiii. 219 He who first deuised Chesse-play..lotted as many cheefe men to the one side as to the other.
1605 M. Drayton Poems sig. Hh6 Fortune had yet so lotted out my hap.
1606 W. Warner Continuance Albions Eng. xv. xcix. 391 Though she lack not of the age that Scriptures lot to man.
1611 T. Heywood Golden Age ii. sig. D4v She..Must be her bed-companion, so tis lotted.
1648 E. Symmons Vindic. King Charles (new ed.) 291 They being by the Providence of God lotted under his government.
1823 Ld. Byron Age of Bronze vi. 17 A live estate, existing but for thrall, Lotted by thousands, as a meet reward For the first courtier in the Czar's regard.
1832 Fraser's Mag. 5 684 Was more e'er lotted to the vulgar swarm?
1898 T. Hardy Wessex Poems 71 Fifty thousand sturdy souls..Who..were lotted their shares in a quarrel not theirs.
1920 Cosmopolitan Mar. 86/1 He j'ined de war an' 'lotted me fifteen dollars ev'y month.
2012 D. Lane Trag. King Lewis Sixteenth ii. 49 The morrow morn each man enjoined to take Him smartly to the chamber lotted him.
†b. transitive. To appoint or select (a person or thing) to do or be something. Cf. allot v. 5. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > command > command or bidding > command [verb (transitive)] > ordain, prescribe, or appoint
asetc885
teachc897
deemc900
ashapea1000
i-demeOE
setc1000
shiftc1000
stevenOE
redeOE
willOE
lookc1175
showc1175
stablea1300
devise1303
terminea1325
shapec1330
stightlea1375
determinec1384
judgea1387
sign1389
assize1393
statute1397
commanda1400
decree1399
yarka1400
writec1405
decreetc1425
rule1447
stallc1460
constitute1481
assignc1485
institute1485
prescribec1487
constitue1489
destinate1490
to lay down1493
make?a1513
call1523
plant1529
allot1532
stint1533
determ1535
appointa1538
destinec1540
prescrive1552
lot1560
fore-appoint1561
nominate1564
to set down1576
refer1590
sort1592
doom1594
fit1600
dictate1606
determinate1636
inordera1641
state1647
fix1660
direct1816
1560 J. Heywood Fourth Hundred Epygrams lxx. sig. Bvv Where woldst thou be lotted to be from both thees?
1573 T. Twyne tr. Virgil in T. Phaer & T. Twyne tr. Virgil Whole .xii. Bks. Æneidos xii. sig. L l iv And I alonly lotted am King Turnus to assay.
1581 T. Newton tr. Seneca Thebais i, in T. Newton et al. tr. Seneca 10 Trag. f. 41 Wel I know it lotted is to be my graue and Pit.
a1637 B. Jonson Sad Shepherd ii. i. 32 in Wks. (1640) III Your brother Lorells prize! For so my largesse, Hath lotted her, to be your brothers Mistresse. View more context for this quotation
1889 C. L. Hildreth Masque of Death 160 My heart has lotted me to bear The weight of many destinies.
2.
a. intransitive. Chiefly Scottish. To contribute a proportionate or allotted amount to municipal taxes and charges; cf. lot n. 7a. Chiefly in collocation with scot, esp. in to lot and scot, to scot and lot (cf. scot v. 3). Now historical and rare.
ΚΠ
c1436 Domesday Ipswich (BL Add. 25011) in T. Twiss Black Bk. Admiralty (1873) II. 153 (MED) Ȝif [printed zif] ony that be resceyved burgeys..wil nott been lottyng [Fr. lotaunt] and scottyng, ne helpyng to the toun as a burgeys oweth to been, thanne be his fraunchise..repelyd.
1467 in Rec. Parl. Scotl. to 1707 (2007) 1467/1/4 Na gudis under the ourlop to scot nor lot with tha gudis in case thai be castin.
a1500 in C. Gross Gild Merchant (1890) II. 138 (MED) I shall lote and scot with my brethren of the Gild, whether I dwell in the town frauncheses or in the Bishop Fee or in any other place.
1531 in J. D. Marwick Extracts Rec. Burgh Edinb. (1871) II. 53 Because the saidis vnfremen nowthir scottis lottis, walkis nor wardis within our said fredome.
1566 Actis & Constit. Scotl. f. xlviii Thay gudis sall pay na fraucht, nor na gudis vnder the ouerloft to scot nor lot with thay gudis, in caise thay be cassin.
1616 in A. M. Munro Rec. Old Aberdeen (1899) I. 56 Sic as hes nocht hors sall scot and lott with the toun for thair p[ar]t [sc. of the small customs].
1665 in Rothesay Town Council Rec. (1935) I. 109 Thairfoir they war creat..burgesses..and also gave thair aithis..to ward, watche, stent and lote with the rest of the inhabitants.
a1714 in Misc. New Spalding Club (1908) II. 367 I shall Scot, Lot, Watch, Wake and Ward with the inhabitants of this burgh.
1876 5th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS: Pt. I App. 500/1 in Parl. Papers (C. 1432) XL. 1 A testimonial, in Latin..stating..that from his goods he scotted and lotted, and bore his burden along with others.
1904 J. Tait Mediæval Manch. 97 The charters of Cardiff and other Welsh boroughs forbad any but persons ‘scotting and lotting’ with the burgesses and members of the Merchant Gild to keep an open shop.
†b. transitive. To assess (a person, property, etc.) for such contributions; to tax. Chiefly in to lot and scot, to scot and lot (cf. scot v. 2). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > tax > taxation > levy (a tax) [verb (transitive)] > tax (a person or thing)
layc1330
tailc1330
taxc1330
scot1432
patise1436
sess1465
task1483
assessa1513
cessa1513
lot1543
toust1565
imposea1618
talliate1762
1543–4 Act 35 Hen. VIII c. 11 §3 in Statutes of Realm (1817) III. 970 Two Justices of Peace..shall have full power..indifferently to lott and taxe everie Cittie boroughe and towne within the Shires.
1690 S. Jeake Jr. Diary 2 July in Astrol. Diary (1988) 203 My scots and lots..to the aforesaid Commonalty [sc. Rye] shall well and truly pay when I shall be thereunto scotted or lotted, so help me God.
1724 J. Trueman Exam. & Resol. Two Questions 14 It is the Judgment the Neighbourhood passes upon his Sufficiency by scotting and lotting him.
1774 E. Jacob Hist. Faversham 28 All which lands and tenements are geldable by the abbot, and scotted and lotted as well as ourselves, for the service of our lord the king.
1841 W. Mildmay Method & Rule Proc. Elections London 95 To be Scotted and Lotted as an inhabitant are the conditions imposed upon the reformation of the constituency of the wards.
†3.
a. intransitive. To draw or cast lots (for something). Obsolete.In quot. 1483 with clause as complement.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > free will > choice or choosing > types of choice > make types of choice [verb (intransitive)] > choose or decide by lot
to cast lots (also lot)a1275
to draw lots (also lot)c1425
lot1483
to draw valentines?1553
draw1634
to draw a straw or straws1832
to draw short and long1870
1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende f. lxv/1 Wherfor now stande euerich in his tribe & we shal lote who shal be our kyng.
1642 R. Harris Serm. preached to House of Commons 43 Let's put it to the Lot. Lot upon your selves; and let each Parliament man say, Am I ready?
a1657 W. Bradford Hist. Plymouth Plantation in Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. (1856) 4th Ser. III. 216 A cowe [was given] to 6. persons or shars, & 2. goats to ye same, which were first equalised for age & goodnes, and then lotted for.
1694 Proclam. for making up Men (single sheet) In case..they could not agree who should furnish the body of the man, the saids Commissioners should order the Fractions to..determine it by an equal Lot... In case any of the saids Fractions should not meet, or should refuse to Lot, [etc.].
1795 J. Sullivan Hist. Maine 188 The house lots were all lotted for, except such as were allowed to be pitched by the old proprietors.
1837 J. Wood Let. 16 Feb. in P. Carter Bradford Poor Law Union (2004) 18 When such Districts were made we lotted for the Districts and..it fell to my lot to take six out of the eleven Districts.
1868 J. P. Prendergast Cromwellian Settlem. Ireland iii. 214 The lots for provinces having been cast, the officers of the several regiments in each provincial lot, before lotting for counties, valued the different baronies in their lot.
b. transitive. To draw or cast lots for; to divide or distribute by drawing lots. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > free will > choice or choosing > types of choice > choose in specific way [verb (transitive)] > choose or get by lot
takec1175
sort1513
draw1564
lot1617
ballot1785
the mind > possession > giving > distributing or dealing out > distribute or deal out [verb (transitive)] > divide into parts for which lots are cast > distribute by lot
sort1513
lot1617
1617 in Aberdeen Jrnl. Notes & Queries (1910) 3 252 To pay..the equall half of four hors to be lottit and cassin be cavills as falls be lot.
1703 S. Sewall Diary 22 Mar. (1973) I. 483 Mr. Banister and I Lotted our Fence on Cotton-Hill:..He chose to put it to Lot.
1723 S. Sewall Diary 2 Mar. (1973) II. 1006 The Children's Plate and Linen is divided into Six parts, and then Lotted.
1839 P. J. Bailey Festus 145 Men who have..bought up truth for the nations; parted it, As soldiers lotted once the garb of God.
c. transitive. To select (conscripts) by lot. Obsolete (historical in later use).
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military organization > enlistment or recruitment > enlist (soldiers) [verb (transitive)] > compel to enlist
prest1481
press1542
impress1598
imprest1645
lot1757
conscribe1806
conscript1813
draft1862
press-gang1899
to comb out1916
1757 J. Salusbury Diary 23 Aug. in Some Bedfordshire Diaries (1960) (modernized text) 50 A meeting today at the White Horse at Hockliffe to lot the Militia men for this Hundred.
1758 J. Blake Plan Marine Syst. 5 The other captain..is..to send the officers under him on board merchant ships, in order to lot the men.
1893 J. H. Turner Hist. Brighouse 254 John Marsden who was lotted or pressed for a soldier in Wellington's time.
d. transitive. To separate off by lot from a whole. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1849 G. Grote Hist. Greece V. ii. xlvi. 496 The newly-created panels of salaried dikasts, lotted off in ten divisions from the aggregate Heliæa.
4.
a. transitive. To divide (land) into sections; to divide and allot (land). Frequently in passive. Frequently with out (also off, up).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > giving > distributing or dealing out > distribute or deal out [verb (transitive)] > divide into shares > divide and share out > land
lot1523
canton1598
to set outa1684
1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Surueyeng xli. f. lvv Euery lordes bayly to be indyfferent to se these closes lotted and assigned to euery mannes ease, so that euery man may haue one lytell crofte or close next to his owne house.
1565 T. Norton & T. Sackville Gorboduc i. ii. sig. A.vii Deuiding of this Realme in twaine And lotting out the same in egall partes, To either of my Lordes your Graces sonnes.
1622 H. Peacham Compl. Gentleman ix. 73 Euery man had his owne portion of ground lotted and laide out to him.
1634 in Rec. Muddy River & Brookline, Mass. (1875) 9 That Hogg Island shall be lotted out unto the inhabitants and freemen of this town.
1647 in Rec. Mass. Bay (1853) II. 195 Waymoth haveing a swamp, supposed to be above 100 acres, they are granted liberty to lot it out amongst themselues.
1736 in E. Hyde Hist. Winchendon, Mass. (1849) 75 The Committee to lot and lay out the first division.
1768 Acts & Laws Massachusetts-Bay iv. 394 One Penny per Acre, on every of the hundred Acre Lotts already lotted out in said Town.
1796 J. Donaldson Mod. Agric. IV. xxxii. 178 If they [sc. extensive tracts of improvable land] were lotted off and sold..these measures would give a spring to the agriculture of the different districts where the crown-lands are situated.
1808 R. Forsyth Beauties Scotl. V. 202 A village is lotted out, and to each lot of building ground is appropriated a small croft.
1823 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto X xxxv. 70 Lotting other's properties Into some sixty thousand new knights' fees.
1891 E. Chase Dartmouth Coll. I. 611 The remainder of the grant..was lotted, and some of it rented on long leases about 1821.
1916 Central Amer. as Export Field (U. S. Dept. Commerce) iv. 119 One suggestion is that..the surplus land become the property of the Government, to be lotted out to homesteaders.
1977 R. Fedden & R. Joekes National Trust Guide (ed. 2) vii. 421 Manesty and Glencoyne Woods were lotted up as building sites.
2012 Jrnl. (Newcastle) (Nexis) 20 Oct. 70 The farm, which is lotted four ways, totals 311 acres.
b. transitive. To divide (items) into groups or lots, esp. for sale at an auction. Also with out, up.
ΚΠ
1601 S. Harward Phlebotomy iii. 70 The foure emollitiues are, as skilful Heurnius doth lot them out, 1. mallowes, 2. marsh mallowes [etc.].
1681 W. Freeman Let. 8 Feb. (2002) 199 I desire the caske may be lotted after filled,..& one half marked for my acco.t, the other for yours.
1689 Minutes Hudsons Bay Co. (1945) I. 28 They have sorted and Lotted the Beaver skinns and the rest of the Cargo wch. is to be Exposed to sale.
1709 London Gaz. No. 4595/4 They are lotted into small Parcels.
1758 I. Fletcher Diary 21 Dec. (1994) 58 Lotted the gloves & other goods on hand for John Fisher & Co. & sent the shares to the owners.
1821 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto IV xci. 116 Lady to lady, well as man to man, Were to be chain'd and lotted out per couple, For the slave market of Constantinople.
1837 Advt. in R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. (1886) III. 120 The Stone Wall..and the Coping..surmounted by Nine Balls..will be sold in one Lot; excepting the Balls, which will be lotted in Pairs.
1861 Temple Bar 1 145 The furniture was lotted out for the auctioneer's hammer.
1880 Advt. in Echo 23 Nov. 4/2 A Stock of about 300 dozen choice Wines, lotted to suit the Trade and Private Buyers.
1884 Law Times 3 May 11/1 Fisher..had begun to lot and catalogue the furniture.
1893 H. Vizetelly Glances Back II. xxvii. 110 The auctioneer's man who lotted the goods.
1916 Federal Reporter 230 653 An auctioneer was employed who rendered a bill for expenses (apparently in lotting the goods and the like).
1992 Independent 28 Sept. 18/8 The contents have already been lotted up, and the auction takes place on Monday.
2004 Stamp Mag. Aug. 69/3 His collection was lotted by the author and sold by Macray Watson Auctions.
5. intransitive. With on or upon. To count or reckon on; to depend or rely on; to hope for, expect. Later also transitive: to plan or intend to do something. Cf. allot v. 6. Now rare (in later use chiefly North American regional).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > expect [verb (transitive)] > rely on
to presume on, upon, or of?a1475
reckon1547
lot1633
compute1674
count1711
to look to ——1782
to bargain for1801
calculate1802
to figure on or upon1904
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > hope > hope for [verb (transitive)]
hopec1000
trow1340
trust1523
to wait after ——1534
lot1633
to look for ——1828
1633 D. Rogers Treat. Two Sacraments Gospell i. 165 Doe ye know the way unto him by the Supper..? Doe ye lot upon it, that there (if any where)..the broken peace of your consciences..is to be revived?
1642 D. Rogers Naaman 565 Its a maxime: lot upon it, whether thou see it so or not, it will be so.
1658 W. Gurnall Christian in Armour: 2nd Pt. 656 The soul, that was even now pining to death with despair, and lotting upon hell in his thoughts.
1662 W. Gurnall Christian in Armour: 3rd Pt. 642 As the Saints are covetous of prayers, so they lot upon it that you do pray for them.
1767 S. Osborn Jrnl. 27 Apr. in S. Hopkins Mem. S. Osborn (1799) ii. 83 We have been lotting upon great and extraordinary impressions upon souls here.
1838 C. Gilman Recoll. Southern Matron vi. 51 I have taken to farming, and lot upon seeing the Carolina seeds come up that you gave me.
1854 ‘M. Harland’ Alone x. 117 I've been 'lotting to go for you, but thought maybe she mought be able to pick up after awhile.
1868 A. D. Whitney Patience Strong's Outings ii. 27 I can't help lotting on it all the time.
1894 Brit. Weekly 16 Aug. 258 All these six weeks..had Emma Jane lotted upon it.
1922 A. P. Terhune Further Adventures of Lad iii. 97 What are you lottin' to do with the stuff, this time?
1939 D. C. Fisher Seasoned Timber xxv. 344 It makes me feel bad to see you lotting on getting anybody to listen to the Gettysburg Speech.
1980 Eng. World-wide 1 52 They [sc. inhabitants of the Abaco Islands] use such regional words from New England as lot ‘to plan’, e.g. ‘I'm lotting to go fishing.’
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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