raffle English · revision 1283

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɹæfl̩/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It comes from Middle English ''rafle'' “a dice game”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|fro|rafle|t=dice game; plundering, a snatching]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) perhaps of Germanic origin,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) related to German ''raffen'' “to snatch”.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) The notion would be sweeping up the stakes,^(Etymonline) though the OED is against the Germanic link.^(Etymonline) ''Raffle'' “rubbish” is a related word.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==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).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==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.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989) The verb meant to cast dice or draw lots before 1680,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate) and to dispose of by raffle from 1851.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * about 1386 – a dice game.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * before 1680 – verb, to take part in a raffle.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1766 – a lottery for an article.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1851 – verb, to dispose of by raffle.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[lottery]] in which people buy chances to win a prize, often to raise money.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Rubbish; especially a tangle of ropes and gear on a ship (a related word).^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To dispose of something by raffle, often with ''off''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To take part in a raffle.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[raffler]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[raff]]

+ * [[riffraff]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}