Word: draft Part of Speech: noun Etymology: A phonetic spelling of draught (compare laughter), from Middle English draught, draght (“that which is pulled; that which is drawn up, a design”), from Old English *dreaht, *dræht, from Proto-West Germanic *drahti, *drahtu, from Proto-Germanic *drahtuz (“a pulling, drawing”). Cognate with Dutch dracht, German Tracht, Icelandic dráttur. By surface analysis, draw + -t. Pronunciation: /dɹɑːft/, /dɹæft/, /dɹaft/, /dɾaft/ 1. A current of air, usually coming into a room or vehicle. Labels: US, countable, uncountable 2. The draw through a flue of gasses or smoke resulting from a combustion process. Labels: US, countable, uncountable 3. An act of drinking. Labels: US, countable, uncountable 4. The quantity of liquid (such as water, alcohol, or medicine) drunk in one swallow. Labels: US, countable, uncountable Example: to drink at a draft Example: She took a deep draft from the bottle of water. 5. A dose (of medicine, alcohol, etc.). Labels: US, countable, uncountable 6. Liquid, especially beer or other alcohol, drawn from a cask or keg rather than a bottle or can. Labels: US, countable, uncountable Example: From 1767 to 1774 no pale wine was bottled but for immediate use; only draft wine of all kinds was used in the principal taverns, and it was often very bad, not from tricks of the vintners, but from bad management. Example: Another positive trend is the increase of quality in draft cider options. Draft cider has often been, and sometimes still is, considered an inferior product by cider traditionalists, who believe a true cider should come in a bottle or[…] 7. The depth of water needed to float a particular ship; the depth from the waterline to the bottom of a vessel's hull; the depth of water drawn by a vessel. Labels: US, countable, uncountable 8. A version of a written work (such as a book or paper) or drawing. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: I have to revise the first draft of my term paper. Example: His first drafts were better than most authors' final products. 9. An unsent e-mail. Labels: countable, uncountable 10. A preliminary sketch or outline for a plan. Labels: countable, uncountable 11. An order for money to be paid; the document that states it: a cheque, note, bond, bill of exchange, money order, or IOU. Labels: archaic, countable, uncountable 12. Conscription; the system of forcing people to serve in the military. Labels: Canada, US, countable, uncountable, usually Example: He left the country to avoid the draft. 13. A person who has been drafted; a conscript or draftee. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: With these counsels, and many others equally valuable, did Papa Wick fortify Bobby ere that last awful night at Portsmouth when the Officers' Quarters held more inmates than were provided for by the Regulations, and the liberty-men of the ships fell foul of the drafts for India, and the battle raged from the Dockyard Gates even to the slums of Longport, while the drabs of Fratton came down and scratched the faces of the Queen's Officers. 14. A system of forcing or convincing people to take an elected position. Labels: US, countable, uncountable 15. A system of assigning rookie players to professional sports teams. Labels: US, countable, uncountable 16. A style of play in collectible card games, where players select from a shared pool of cards. Labels: countable, uncountable 17. A quantity that is requisitioned or drawn out from a larger population. Labels: British, English, archaic, countable, possibly, uncountable Example: As an instance: amongst a draft of young hounds from Earl F itzwilliam's was one, of whom Will Deane, his huntsman, made this remark in his letter, 'that he could not guess at Lord Foley's dislike to the hound called Glider, then sent, which was of the best blood in the country, being got by Mr. Meynell's Glider out of Lord Fitzwilliam's Blossom, and was moreover the most promising young hound he had ever entered;... Example: These drafts left between the 17th March and 28th April. After this there was no regular system of artillery drafts. A draft of 80 was detailed to take charge of horses on board ship as all cavalry drafts were for the time exhausted, and this draft sailed on the 30th June. 18. The pulling force (tension) on couplers and draft gear during a slack (stretched) condition. Labels: US, countable, uncountable 19. The bevel given to the pattern for a casting, so that it can be drawn from the sand without damaging the mould. Labels: countable, uncountable 20. The action or an act (especially of a beast of burden or vehicle) of pulling something along or back. Labels: US, archaic, countable, possibly, uncountable Example: using oxen for draft Example: shot forth an arrow with a mighty draft 21. The act of drawing in a net for fish. Labels: US, archaic, countable, possibly, uncountable 22. That which is drawn in; a catch; a haul. Labels: US, archaic, countable, possibly, uncountable Example: He cast his net, which brought him a very great draft. 23. A small stream or tributary. Labels: Appalachia, countable, uncountable Example: Crossing several ridges & hollows & two small drafts of water. Example: Hollows were tributary to a cove or another type of sizable valley threaded by a creek or, in Pennsylvania, a “run,” and in Virginia, a “draft.” 24. A ravine or narrow valley, especially one through which a stream (at least intermittently) flows. Labels: Appalachia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West, countable, especially, uncountable Example: [page 24:] About one quarter of a mile up the draft, the same blue-gray limestone is opened in a quarry on the Graham and Robinson farm, […] [page 31:] Up along a narrow draft heading south-east from the creek at Southern's place, a series of small pits and trenches have been dug close to the ridge […] above the level of the creek. Example: Then came the pleasant toil up and down the ridges and drafts of the Knob.