Lot \Lot\, n. [AS. hlot; akin to hle['o]tan to cast lots, OS.
hl?t lot, D. lot, G. loos, OHG. l?z, Icel. hlutr, Sw. lott,
Dan. lod, Goth. hlauts. Cf. Allot, Lotto, Lottery.]
1. That which happens without human design or forethought;
chance; accident; hazard; fortune; fate.
But save my life, which lot before your foot doth
lay. --Spenser.
2. Anything (as a die, pebble, ball, or slip of paper) used
in determining a question by chance, or without man's
choice or will; as, to cast or draw lots.
The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole
disposing thereof is of the Lord. --Prov. xvi.
33.
If we draw lots, he speeds. --Shak.
3. The part, or fate, which falls to one, as it were, by
chance, or without his planning.
O visions ill foreseen! Each day's lot's Enough to
bear. --Milton.
He was but born to try The lot of man -- to suffer
and to die. --Pope.
4. A separate portion; a number of things taken collectively;
as, a lot of stationery; -- colloquially, sometimes of
people; as, a sorry lot; a bad lot.
I, this winter, met with a very large lot of English
heads, chiefly of the reign of James I. --Walpole.
5. A distinct portion or plot of land, usually smaller than a
field; as, a building lot in a city.
The defendants leased a house and lot in the city of
New York. --Kent.
6. A large quantity or number; a great deal; as, to spend a
lot of money; lots of people think so. [Colloq.]
He wrote to her . . . he might be detained in London
by a lot of business. --W. Black.
7. A prize in a lottery. [Obs.]
--Evelyn.
To cast in one's lot with, to share the fortunes of.
To cast lots, to use or throw a die, or some other
instrument, by the unforeseen turn or position of which,
an event is by previous agreement determined.
To draw lots, to determine an event, or make a decision, by
drawing one thing from a number whose marks are concealed
from the drawer.
To pay scot and lot, to pay taxes according to one's
ability. See Scot.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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