> as lemmas

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.