raffle

Meaning

Noun

1. A drawing, often held as a fundraiser, in which tickets or chances are sold to win a prize.
2. (obsolete) A game of dice in which the player who throws three of the same number wins all the stakes.

Verb

1. To award something by means of a raffle or random drawing.
2. To participate in a raffle.

Synonyms

lottery

draw

draw for

draw lots

raffle off

lottery-ticket

drawing

lucky dip

bingo

draw for anything

gamble

lot

shake

sweepstakes

tombola

trash

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈɹæfl̩/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: rafle

Cognate with Middle Dutch: raffel

Cognate with German: raffen

Cognate with Old English: hreppan

In summary

From Middle English rafle, from Old French rafle, raffle (“dice game", also "plundering”), from rafler (“to snatch, seize, carry off”), from Frankish *raffolōn, from Proto-Germanic *hrapōną, *hrēpōną (“to scratch, touch, pluck out, snatch”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kreb(h)-, *(s)kerb(h)- (“to turn, bend, shrink”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to turn, bend”). Cognate with Middle Dutch raffel (“dice game”), German raffen (“to snatch away, sweep off”), Old English hreppan (“to touch, treat, attack”).