'To cast lots' definitions:
Definition of 'To cast lots'
From: GCIDE
- Lot \Lot\ (l[o^]t), n. [AS. hlot; akin to hle['i]tan to cast lots, OS. hl[=o]t lot, D. lot, G. loos, OHG. l[=o]z, Icel. hlutr, Sw. lott, Dan. lod, Goth. hlauts. Cf. Allot, Lotto, Lottery.] [1913 Webster]
- 1. That which happens without human design or forethought; chance; accident; hazard; fortune; fate. [1913 Webster]
- But save my life, which lot before your foot doth lay. --Spenser. [1913 Webster]
- 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. [1913 Webster]
- The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. --Prov. xvi. 33. [1913 Webster]
- If we draw lots, he speeds. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
- 3. The part, or fate, which falls to one, as it were, by chance, or without his planning. [1913 Webster]
- O visions ill foreseen! Each day's lot's Enough to bear. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
- He was but born to try The lot of man -- to suffer and to die. --Pope. [1913 Webster]
- 4. A separate portion; a number of things taken collectively; all objects sold in a single purchase transaction; as, a lot of stationery; -- colloquially, sometimes of people; as, a sorry lot; a bad lot. [1913 Webster]
- I, this winter, met with a very large lot of English heads, chiefly of the reign of James I. --Walpole. [1913 Webster]
- 5. A distinct portion or plot of land, usually smaller than a field; as, a building lot in a city. [1913 Webster]
- The defendants leased a house and lot in the city of New York. --Kent. [1913 Webster]
- 6. A large quantity or number; a great deal; as, to spend a lot of money; to waste a lot of time on line; lots of people think so. [Colloq.] [1913 Webster]
- He wrote to her . . . he might be detained in London by a lot of business. --W. Black. [1913 Webster]
- 7. A prize in a lottery. [Obs.] --Evelyn. [1913 Webster]
- 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. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'To cast lots'
From: GCIDE
- Cast \Cast\ (k[.a]st), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Cast; p. pr. & vb. n. Casting.] [Cf. Dan. kaste, Icel. & Sw. kasta; perh. akin to L. gerere to bear, carry. E. jest.]
- 1. To send or drive by force; to throw; to fling; to hurl; to impel. [1913 Webster]
- Uzziah prepared . . . slings to cast stones. --2 Chron. xxvi. 14. [1913 Webster]
- Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. --Acts. xii. 8. [1913 Webster]
- We must be cast upon a certain island. --Acts. xxvii. 26. [1913 Webster]
- 2. To direct or turn, as the eyes. [1913 Webster]
- How earnestly he cast his eyes upon me! --Shak. [1913 Webster]
- 3. To drop; to deposit; as, to cast a ballot. [1913 Webster]
- 4. To throw down, as in wrestling. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
- 5. To throw up, as a mound, or rampart. [1913 Webster]
- Thine enemies shall cast a trench [bank] about thee. --Luke xix. 48. [1913 Webster]
- 6. To throw off; to eject; to shed; to lose. [1913 Webster]
- His filth within being cast. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
- Neither shall your vine cast her fruit. --Mal. iii. 11 [1913 Webster]
- The creatures that cast the skin are the snake, the viper, etc. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
- 7. To bring forth prematurely; to slink. [1913 Webster]
- Thy she-goats have not cast their young. --Gen. xxi. 38. [1913 Webster]
- 8. To throw out or emit; to exhale. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
- This . . . casts a sulphureous smell. --Woodward. [1913 Webster]
- 9. To cause to fall; to shed; to reflect; to throw; as, to cast a ray upon a screen; to cast light upon a subject. [1913 Webster]
- 10. To impose; to bestow; to rest. [1913 Webster]
- The government I cast upon my brother. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
- Cast thy burden upon the Lord. --Ps. iv. 22. [1913 Webster]
- 11. To dismiss; to discard; to cashier. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
- The state can not with safety cast him. [1913 Webster]
- 12. To compute; to reckon; to calculate; as, to cast a horoscope. "Let it be cast and paid." --Shak. [1913 Webster]
- You cast the event of war, my noble lord. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
- 13. To contrive; to plan. [Archaic] [1913 Webster]
- The cloister . . . had, I doubt not, been cast for [an orange-house]. --Sir W. Temple. [1913 Webster]
- 14. To defeat in a lawsuit; to decide against; to convict; as, to be cast in damages. [1913 Webster]
- She was cast to be hanged. --Jeffrey. [1913 Webster]
- Were the case referred to any competent judge, they would inevitably be cast. --Dr. H. More. [1913 Webster]
- 15. To turn (the balance or scale); to overbalance; hence, to make preponderate; to decide; as, a casting voice. [1913 Webster]
- How much interest casts the balance in cases dubious! --South. [1913 Webster]
- 16. To form into a particular shape, by pouring liquid metal or other material into a mold; to fashion; to found; as, to cast bells, stoves, bullets. [1913 Webster]
- 17. (Print.) To stereotype or electrotype. [1913 Webster]
- 18. To fix, distribute, or allot, as the parts of a play among actors; also to assign (an actor) for a part. [1913 Webster]
- Our parts in the other world will be new cast. --Addison. [1913 Webster]
- To cast anchor (Naut.) See under Anchor.
- To cast a horoscope, to calculate it.
- To cast a horse, sheep, or other animal, to throw with the feet upwards, in such a manner as to prevent its rising again.
- To cast a shoe, to throw off or lose a shoe, said of a horse or ox.
- To cast aside, to throw or push aside; to neglect; to reject as useless or inconvenient.
- To cast away. (a) To throw away; to lavish; to waste. "Cast away a life" --Addison. (b) To reject; to let perish. "Cast away his people." --Rom. xi. 1. "Cast one away." --Shak. (c) To wreck. "Cast away and sunk." --Shak.
- To cast by, to reject; to dismiss or discard; to throw away.
- To cast down, to throw down; to destroy; to deject or depress, as the mind. "Why art thou cast down. O my soul?" --Ps. xiii. 5.
- To cast forth, to throw out, or eject, as from an inclosed place; to emit; to send out.
- To cast in one's lot with, to share the fortunes of.
- To cast in one's teeth, to upbraid or abuse one for; to twin.
- To cast lots. See under Lot.
- To cast off. (a) To discard or reject; to drive away; to put off; to free one's self from. (b) (Hunting) To leave behind, as dogs; also, to set loose, or free, as dogs. --Crabb. (c) (Naut.) To untie, throw off, or let go, as a rope.
- To cast off copy, (Print.), to estimate how much printed matter a given amount of copy will make, or how large the page must be in order that the copy may make a given number of pages.
- To cast one's self on or To cast one's self upon to yield or submit one's self unreservedly to, as to the mercy of another.
- To cast out, to throw out; to eject, as from a house; to cast forth; to expel; to utter.
- To cast the lead (Naut.), to sound by dropping the lead to the bottom.
- To cast the water (Med.), to examine the urine for signs of disease. [Obs.].
- To cast up. (a) To throw up; to raise. (b) To compute; to reckon, as the cost. (c) To vomit. (d) To twit with; to throw in one's teeth. [1913 Webster]