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raffle

Etymology and origin of the English word raffle

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈɹæfl̩/[1]

Etymology

It comes from Middle English rafle “a dice game”,[2][3][4][5][6] from Old French rafle (“dice game; plundering, a snatching”),[2][3][4][5] perhaps of Germanic origin,[2][3][4] related to German raffen “to snatch”.[3][4][5] The notion would be sweeping up the stakes,[4] though the OED is against the Germanic link.[4] Raffle “rubbish” is a related word.[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A game of chance with three dice, in which the player who threw three alike won all the stakes (about 1386–90).[7][3][4]

Semantic evolution

The sense of a lottery in which an article goes to one of many people who have paid for a chance is recorded from 1766.[3][4][5][7] The verb meant to cast dice or draw lots before 1680,[7][3][5] and to dispose of by raffle from 1851.[7][4]

Timeline

  • about 1386 – a dice game.[7][3]
  • before 1680 – verb, to take part in a raffle.[7][3][5]
  • 1766 – a lottery for an article.[3][4][5][7]
  • 1851 – verb, to dispose of by raffle.[7][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A lottery in which people buy chances to win a prize, often to raise money.
  2. Rubbish; especially a tangle of ropes and gear on a ship (a related word).

Verb

  1. To dispose of something by raffle, often with off.
  2. To take part in a raffle.

Word family

  • raffler
  • raff
  • riffraff

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Raffle.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/raffle. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·