Webster's English Dictionary

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lottery

lot.tery \'la:t-*-re-, 'la:-tre-\ n [MF loterie, fr. MD, fr. lot lot; akin 
   to OE hlot lot] often attrib  1: a drawing of lots in which prizes are 
   distributed to the winners among p ersons buying a chance 2: an event or 
   affair whose outcome is or seems to be determined by chance