lot

From Middle English lot, from Old English hlot (“portion, choice, decision”), from Proto-Germanic *hlutą.

Cognate with North Frisian lod, Saterland Frisian Lot, West Frisian lot, Dutch lot, French lot, German Low German Lott, Middle High German luz. Doublet of lotto. Related also to German Los.

• (Received Pronunciation, Canada) enPR: lŏt, IPA^(key): /lɒt/
• (General American, dialectal in Canada) enPR: lät, IPA^(key): /lɑt/

  • Audio (California):

    (file)

• (Boston, Western Pennsylvania, Standard Southern British) IPA^(key): /lɔt/

  • Audio (Standard Southern British); “a lot”:

    (file)

• (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA^(key): /lɔt/, /lɒt/
• Rhymes: -ɒt

lot (plural lots)

1. A large quantity or number; a great deal.

   Synonyms: load, mass, pile; see also Thesaurus:lot

   win the whole lot (of money); i.e. jackpot

   lots of people think so

   • 1877, William Black, Green Pastures and Piccadilly, volume 2, page 4:

     He wrote to her […] he might be detained in London by a lot of business.

   • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter III, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC, page 52:

     I filled my dreener in no time, and then it come to me that 'twouldn't be a bad idee to get a lot more, take 'em with me to Wellmouth, and peddle 'em out.

2. A separate, appropriated portion; a quantized, subdivided set consisting a whole.

   Synonyms: batch, collection, group, set

   a lot of stationery

   The Lord divided the land to the tribes, each according to his lot.

3. One or more items auctioned or sold as a unit, separate from other items.
5. (informal) A number of people taken collectively.

   Synonyms: crowd, gang, group

   a sorry lot

   a bad lot

   you lot

6. A distinct portion or plot of land, usually smaller than a field.

   Synonyms: allotment, parcel, plot

   a building lot in a city

   • 1820, James Kent, edited by William Johnson, Reports of cases adjudged in the Court of Chancery of New-York‎^[3], volume 5, published 1822:

     The defendants leased a house and lot, in the City of New-York

7. That which happens without human design or forethought.

   Synonyms: chance, accident, destiny, fate, fortune; see also Thesaurus:fate

   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “(please specify the book), Canto V”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, page 1:

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

9. Anything (as a die, pebble, ball, or slip of paper) used in determining a question by chance, or without human choice or will.

   to cast lots

   to draw lots

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 16:33:

     The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.

   • c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii]:

     If we draw lots, he speeds.

10. The part, or fate, that falls to one, as it were, by chance, or without one's planning.
    • 1667, John Milton, “Book XI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

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

    • 1725, Homer, “Book III”, in [Alexander Pope], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], volume I, London: […] Bernard Lintot, →OCLC:

      He was but born to try / The lot of man — to suffer and to die.

    • 1749, Henry Fielding, chapter II, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book III:

      […] as Jones alone was discovered, the poor lad bore not only the whole smart, but the whole blame; both which fell again to his lot on the following occasion.

    • 1977, C-3PO, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope:

      We seem to be made to suffer. It's our lot in life.

11. A prize in a lottery.

    Synonym: prize

    • 1694 November 22 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for November 12 1694]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], 2nd edition, volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […]; and sold by John and Arthur Arch, […], published 1819, →OCLC:

      In the lottery […] Sir R. Haddock one of the Commissrs of the Navy had the greatest lot, £3000 ; my coachman £ 40

12. Allotment; lottery.
    • 1990: Donald Kagan, Pericles of Athens and the Birth of Democracy, chapter 2: “Politician”, page 40 (Guild Publishing; CN 2239)

      Archons served only for one year and, since 487/6, they were chosen by lot. Generals, on the other hand, were chosen by direct election and could be reelected without limit.

13. (definite, the lot) All members of a set; everything.

    The table was loaded with food, but by evening there was nothing but crumbs; we had eaten the lot.

    If I were in charge, I'd fire the lot of them.

14. (historical) An old unit of weight used in many European countries from the Middle Ages, often defined as 1/30 or 1/32 of a (local) pound.

lot (third-person singular simple present lots, present participle lotting, simple past and past participle lotted)

1. (transitive, dated) To allot; to sort; to apportion.
   • 1851, Henry Mayhew, London Labour and the London Poor, published 1861:

     Sometimes the contractor would lot the work out to some sub-contractor, and he, after the men had worked for a month, would run away, and we should never see the colour of his money.

2. (US, informal, dated) To count or reckon (on or upon).

• LTO, OTL, tol, tol'

From Proto-Albanian *lā(i)ta, and adjective in *-to-, from Proto-Indo-European *lēy- (“to pour”).^[1]

lot m (plural lot, definite loti, definite plural lotët)

1. tear (from the eye)

   Gjak, djersë dhe lot — Blood, sweat and tears

• losh
• loc
• loçkë
• loke

• IPA^(key): /lot/

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *lahud, from Proto-Austronesian *lahud. Cognates with Minangkabau lauik (“sea”), Javanese ꦭꦺꦴꦂ (lor, “north”), Ilocano laud (“west”). Doublet of lod.

lot (Balinese script ᬮᭀᬢ᭄)

1. sea

Borrowed from Indonesian lot (“lottery”), from Dutch lot, from Proto-Germanic *hlutą.

lot (Balinese script ᬮᭀᬢ᭄)

1. lottery

• “lot” in Balinese–Indonesian Dictionary [Kamus Bahasa Bali–Indonesia], Denpasar, Indonesia: The Linguistic Center of Bali Province [Balai Bahasa Provinsi Bali].

• log

From English lot.

lot

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) Classifier for large quantity of objects or people.

   一lot過／一lot过 [Cantonese]  ―  jat¹ lot¹ gwo³ [Jyutping]  ―  in a large batch

   • 2015, 湖同, “屋主愛貓一屋腳印 藍澄灣玩黑”, in 《港股策略王》, number 23, 睇樓策略王2手篇, page 36:

     為咗全力催谷最難賣嘅三房，就預留咗成LOT貨俾緻藍天回流客揀。 [Hong Kong Cantonese, trad.]
     为咗全力催谷最难卖嘅三房，就预留咗成LOT货俾致蓝天回流客拣。 [Hong Kong Cantonese, simp.]

     wai⁶ zo² cyun⁴ lik⁶ ceoi¹ guk¹ zeoi³ naan⁴ maai⁶ ge³ saam¹ fong^4-2, zau⁶ jyu⁶ lau⁴ zo² seng⁴ lot¹ fo³ bei² zi³ laam⁴ tin¹ wui⁴ lau⁴ haak³ gaan². [Jyutping]

     To encourage the sales of three-roomers, which are the most difficult to sell, [they] reserved an entire batch of products (flats) for customers who returned after [the sales of] Hemera.

   • 2016, 于日辰, 倫敦金之《潛龍勿用》 [Lon Don Gold 2], Hong Kong: 點子出版, →ISBN, page 193:

     呢Lot貨造成咁實畀人嘈到甩褲喎 [Hong Kong Cantonese, trad.]
     呢Lot货造成咁实畀人嘈到甩裤㖞 [Hong Kong Cantonese, simp.]

     ni¹ lot¹ fo³ zou⁶ seng⁴ gam² sat⁶ bei² jan⁴ cou⁴ dou³ lat¹ fu³ wo³ [Jyutping]

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

From Middle Dutch and Old Dutch lot, from Frankish *hlot, from Proto-Germanic *hlutą.

• IPA^(key): /lɔt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: lot
• Rhymes: -ɔt

lot n (plural loten, diminutive lootje n or lotje n)

1. destiny, fate, lot

   Hij geloofde sterk in het lot en dacht dat alles voorbestemd was.

   He strongly believed in destiny and thought that everything was predetermined.

   Het was haar lot om een ​​belangrijke rol te spelen in het succes van het bedrijf.

   It was her fate to play a significant role in the success of the company.

   Ze accepteerde haar lot en ging verder met haar leven na de tegenslagen.

   She accepted her lot and moved on with her life after the setbacks.

2. lottery ticket

   Hij kocht een lot voor de grote loterij die dat weekend zou plaatsvinden.

   He bought a lottery ticket for the big lottery that would take place that weekend.

   De winnaar van het grote geldbedrag was de gelukkige houder van het winnende lot.

   The winner of the big cash prize was the lucky holder of the winning lottery ticket.

   Ze kraste de verborgen cijfers op het lot om te zien of ze een prijs had gewonnen.

   She scratched the hidden numbers on the lottery ticket to see if she had won a prize.

3. (archaic) lot, allotment (that which has been apportioned to a party)

• Negerhollands: loot, lot
• → Caribbean Javanese: lot
• → Indonesian: lot
  • → Balinese: ᬮᭀᬢ᭄ (lot, “lottery”)
• → Papiamentu: lòt, lot

• tol

Inherited from Middle French lot, from Old French loz, los, from Frankish *lot, from Proto-Germanic *hlutą. Cognate with English lot.

• IPA^(key): /lo/

  • Audio:

    (file)

  • Audio (Paris):

    (file)

  • Homophones: lods, los, lots
• (older, now chiefly Belgium) IPA^(key): /lɔ/
  • Homophone: lots

lot m (plural lots)

1. share (of inheritance)
2. plot (of land)
3. batch (of goods for sale)
4. lot (at auction)
5. prize (in lottery)
6. lot, fate
7. (slang) babe

• gros lot
• lot de consolation
• sortir du lot

• “lot”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

• Audio:

  (file)

lot

1. singular imperative of loten

From Dutch lot, from Proto-Germanic *hlutą.

• IPA^(key): [ˈlɔt]
• Hyphenation: lot

lot (plural lot-lot)

1. lot,
   1. (manufacturing) a separate portion; a number of things taken collectively
   2. (colloquial) lottery

      Synonyms: lotre, undian

   3. (finance) allotment

• → Balinese: ᬮᭀᬢ᭄ (lot, “lottery”)

• “lot” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

lot m (genitive singular as substantive loit, genitive as verbal noun loite, nominative plural loit)

1. verbal noun of loit
2. injury, impairment
3. destruction, defacement, mutilation

As a substantive:

As a verbal noun:

• lotamas

lot (present analytic lotann, future analytic lotfaidh, verbal noun lot, past participle lota)

1. alternative form of loit (“wound, destroy, spoil”)

• lod (Western Kata-viri)

Borrowed from Bactrian λαδο (lado, “law”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈlot/

lot (Eastern Kata-viri, Kamviri)^[1]

1. peace
2. settlement

• Jakob Halfmann (2023) Lād "law": a Bactrian loanword in the Nuristani languages, in Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, United Kingdom, page 1

• lòtt (Classical Milanese Orthography)

• IPA^(key): /lɔt/ (Milanese)

lot m

1. lotus

From Frankish *lot, from Proto-Germanic *hlutą.

lot m (plural lots)

1. (Guernsey) lot (at auction)

lot ?

1. jump

lot

1. simple past of la (Etymology 1)
2. simple past of late

Doublet of lwat.

lot

1. persistent, untiring, tenacious, steadfast

lot

1. persistently, untiringly, tenaciously, steadfastly
2. continuously

• "lot" in P.J. Zoetmulder with the collaboration of S.O. Robson, Old Javanese-English Dictionary. 's-Gravenhage: M. Nijhoff, 1982.

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *letъ.^[1] By surface analysis, deverbal from lecieć.^[2][3][4] First attested in 1548–1551.^[5]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔt
• Syllabification: lot

lot m inan

1. flight (act of flying)

   Synonyms: latanie, fruwanie

2. flight (instance of flying)
3. flight (trip made by an aircraft)
4. (Middle Polish) flight (fast movement)
5. (Middle Polish) flight (fast spreading)

According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), lot is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 59 times in scientific texts, 21 times in news, 4 times in essays, 10 times in fiction, and 8 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 102 times, making it the 618th most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.^[6]

• lot in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• lot in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Renata Bronikowska (21.04.2016) “LOT”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century]
• Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814) “lot”, in Słownik języka polskiego
• Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) “lot”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861
• J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1902), “lot”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volume 2, Warsaw, page 765

Borrowed from French lot.

• IPA^(key): /lot/

lot n (plural loturi)

1. plot (of land)
2. batch (of goods for sale)
3. lot (at auction)
4. national sports team
5. (dated) lottery ticket

• “lot”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2025

From Old Irish lott,^[1] from Proto-Celtic *lottô, from Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁ (“to cut off, separate, free”), see also Latin luō (“expiate, pay”), Sanskrit लून (lūna, “sever, cut forth, destroy, annihilate”), English loose, Old Armenian լուծանեմ (lucanem) and Albanian lirë.^[2] Stokes prefers a comparison with Proto-Germanic *lutōną (“to conceal, hide”), *lūtaną (“to bow down”).

• IPA^(key): /l̪ˠɔht̪/^[3]

lot m (genitive singular lota, plural lotan)

1. sore, wound
2. sting
3. verbal noun of lot

From Old Irish loittid,^[4] for further see Etymology 1.

lot (past lot, future lotaidh, verbal noun lot or lotadh)

1. wound
2. bruise
3. hurt

From English lot.

• IPA^(key): /lɔht/^[5] (with alveolar /t/, as it is an English borrowing)

lot f (genitive singular lota, plural lotaichean)

1. (chiefly Lewis, Wester Ross) croft
2. allotment, lot

lot

1. A unit of weight: 1 lot = 3 mısqal = 12.797 g (archaic) (see Tatar units of measurement#Mass)

From Old Frisian hlot, from Proto-Germanic *hlutą.

lot n (plural lotten, diminutive lotsje)

1. lottery ticket
2. fate, destiny

• “lot (I)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011