lot

/ˈlät/

Middle English lot, lott "object used to decide a matter by chance, decision by the use of such objects, what one receives through such a decision, destiny, share," going back to Old English hlot, going back to Germanic *hluta- (whence also Old Frisian hlot, lot "lot," Old High German hluz, Old Norse hlutr), noun derivative from a verb *hleutan- "to cast lots" (whence Old English hlēotan "to cast lots, obtain, gain as one's lot," Old Saxon hliotan "to obtain," Old High German liozan "to cast lots," Old Norse hjlóta "to get by lot, obtain, undergo"), of uncertain origin

noun

  1. an object used as a counter in determining a question by chance

  2. the use of lots as a means of deciding something

  3. the resulting choice

fate destiny lot portion doom mean a predetermined state or end. fate implies an inevitable and usually an adverse outcome. destiny implies something foreordained and often suggests a great or noble course or end.

verb

  1. allot, apportion

  2. to form or divide into lots

noun

  1. a nephew of Abraham who according to the account in Genesis escaped from the doomed city of Sodom with his wife who turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back