Etymograph

English

lot

Lot comes from Old English hlot ‘portion, choice, decision’, from Proto-Germanic *hlutą ‘lot, share’, and ultimately from *hleutaną ‘to cast lots’.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hleutaną1‘to cast lots’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hlutą2‘lot’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hlut2reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150hlot2‘portion’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lot2
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1590lot2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *hlutą
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English lot
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, (please specify the book), Canto V: “But save my life, which lot before your foot…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hleutanąWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *hlutą‘to cast lots’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hlutąWiktionary, English lot‘lot’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hlutWiktionary, English lotreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150hlotWiktionary, English lot‘portion’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lotWiktionary, English lot
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1590lotWiktionary, English lot. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, (please specify the book), Canto V: “But save my life, which lot before your foot…”

The story

Related also to German Los.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with lot, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Germanic *hlutą ‘fate’

  • lottery ← lotteria ← lotto ← lot ← *hlot
  • lotto ← lot ← *hlot

Explore everything descended from *hleutaną →

No ads, ever. This is how the app stays alive.

Become a founding member, $29 onceWear this word, $32Support the app

Today it means

noun A large quantity or number; a great deal.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “lot”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Germanic *hlutą. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *hleutaną / lot