▪ I. draft, n.
(drɑːft, -æ-)
A modern phonetic spelling of draught n., found in many senses of the word, and now established in the following:
1. The drawing down of one scale or end of a balance in weighing; the ‘turn of the scale’; hence a deduction from the gross weight allowed for this in retailing (= cloff, q.v.).
| [1494–1727 see draught 13.] 1757 W. Thompson R.N. Advoc. 39 To put his Foot into the Scale to weigh it down, to make the Draft good. 1809 R. Langford Introd. Trade 72, 100 Hides..Draft 1 lb. per 10 Hs. 1848 Illustr. Lond. News 29 Apr. 281/1 Secreting two iron hooks under his weighing-machine, thereby causing a draft of 4½ oz. against the purchaser. |
2. a. The drawing off, detachment, or selection of a party from a larger body for some special (spec. military) duty or purpose; spec. (esp. in U.S.), selective conscription. Also attrib. and Comb.
| [1703–1872 see draught 34.] a 1772 J. Woolman Jrnl. (1774) v. 87 The military officers..agreed on a draught [ed. 1900: agreed on draft]. 1780 Joseph Jones Let. 2 Dec. (1889) 58 Let an exemption from draft, or even militia duty out of the State, be offered by the law to every person who recruits a soldier for the war. 1800 Wellington in Gurw. Desp. I. 93 If the bullocks are not occasionally recruited by drafts of fresh calves. 1813 Ibid. 24 Sept. XI. 140 To get nearly as many men by a draft from the militia. 1875 T. W. Higginson Hist. U.S. 306 Soldiers were being drafted; but the draft was very unpopular. 1878 J. H. Beadle Western Wilds 532 All the really valuable survivors of the volunteer army had returned to civil life;..the draft-sneaks and worthless remained. 1918 ‘Captain X’ Our First Half Million 20 Certain newspapers in discussing the draft..used an unfortunate word. It was ‘conscript’. 1918 W. Owen Let. ? 25 Mar. (1967) 542 Two companies of A 4 (boys) on Draft Leave. 1931 J. T. Adams Epic of America xi. 338 There was no draft, there were only..volunteers. Ibid. xiii. 384 No reliance was placed upon volunteering..and a universal draft act was passed. 1961 Listener 17 Aug. 240/1 These sermons were levelled at a nation of professional draft-dodgers. 1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 17 Feb. 1/4 The head of the Toronto Anti-Draft Program last night predicted a considerable increase in the numbers of draft-dodgers coming to Canada in the wake of new draft deferment rules for graduate students. 1968 Listener 6 June 733/2 Students..were protesting against the war by turning in their draft cards. 1971 Times 22 Feb. (Canada Suppl.) p. v/1 Nor are more than a few of them draft-dodgers from over the United States border. |
b. The party or body so drawn off or selected. Also, a person drafted for military service.
| 1756 G. Washington Lett. Writ. 1889 I. 245, I am..convinced..all the drafts [will] quit the service. 1780 J. Reid in Sparks Corr. Amer. Rev. (1853) III. 20 They absolutely refuse to march the drafts to the army. 1868 Regul. & Ord. Army ¶515 Attention..to the age of the men selected, so that the draft may consist of those best qualified for a change of climate. 1884 Boldrewood Melbourne Mem. ii. 22 A draft of out-lying cattle..rose and galloped off. 1890 Times 22 Sept. 4/4 The Wye..sailed from Sheerness..with naval drafts and stores. 1894 Maskelyne Sharps & Flats 56 The ‘draft’— i.e. the cards to replace those which have been discarded [at Poker]. 1916 ‘Boyd Cable’ Action Front 110 I've seen one-half the battalion wiped out and built up with drafts. a 1917 E. A. Mackintosh War, the Liberator (1918) 23, I know the drafts are good men, I know they're doing well. |
c. = draft-ewe (draft n. 7).
| 1844 H. Stephens Bk. Farm III. 1107 Drafts are ready for sale in September. 1886 C. Scott Sheep-Farming 107 Ewes and gimmers at 34/4½, being 3/- a head more than the drafts. |
d. U.S. An act of drafting (see draft v. 1 c).
| 1948 Economist 8 May 763/1 Many believe that General Eisenhower would yield to a draft. 1948 [see draft v. 1 c]. 1950 Manch. Guardian Weekly 2 Nov. 2 He chose to yield to Governor Dewey's ‘draft’ and accept the nomination. |
3. a. The ‘drawing’ of money by an order in due form. Also draught (35 a) q.v.
| [1633–1838 see draught 35 a.] 1833 Act 3 & 4 Will. IV, c. 46 §61 Such treasurer shall make no drafts on the said accounts for any private purpose. |
b. A written order for the payment of money, ‘drawn on’ or addressed to a person holding money in trust or as an agent or servant of the drawer; a bill or cheque drawn; sometimes, spec., an order for the payment of money drawn by one branch of a bank or mercantile house upon another, or by one department of an office upon another.
| [1745–1790 see draught 35 b.] 1786 Trials & Escapes of John Shepherd 13 Mr. Elliot sent the draft to the bankers, which was returned unpaid. 1816 Byron Let. to Murray Wks. (1846) 120/1 note, I have enclosed your draft. 1846 McCulloch Acc. Brit. Empire (1854) II. 31 [They] pay them by giving a bill or draft for the sum, payable in coin at sight, or at so many days after date. 1861 Goschen For. Exch. 31 Teas shipped from China to New York are generally paid for by a draft of the exporter on a London merchant for account of the American importer in New York. 187. McLeod in Bithell Counting-Ho. Dict. s.v. Draft, If the order be addressed to a person who merely holds the money as a Depositum, as a Baillee, or Trustee, or Agent, or Servant of the writer, it is not a Bill, but a Draft. |
c. fig. A demand, claim.
| a 1817 Jane Austen Northang. Abb. (1818) II. xi. 219 Giving ready-monied actual happiness for a draft on the future, that may not be honoured. 1866 Howells Venet. Life 121 Their sterling honesty..has made the English tongue a draft upon the unlimited confidence of the continental peoples. 1869 Lynch Church & State 14 That so great a draft should be made on our patience. 1885 Manch. Exam. 15 June 6/2 Her Majesty makes a thoughtless draft upon the loyalty of her Minister. |
4. A plan, sketch, or drawing, esp. of a work to be executed; † a chart. More usually draught (30, 31), q.v.
| 1697 W. Dampier Voy. I. v. 100 The Spaniards who first discovered them, and in whose drafts alone they are laid down. Ibid. ix. 272 Some of their Drafts newly made do make California to join to the main. 1703 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 106 A round Iron Plate which lies within the hollow..and therefore cannot in Draft be seen in its proper place. 1727–51 Chambers Cycl., Draught or, as it is pronounced, Draft, in architecture, the figure of an intended building described in paper. 1809 H. Carter Autobiogr. Cornish Smuggler (1894) 55 There is no draft for the Channel on board I knows nothing of the Channel. 1863 P. Barry Dockyard Econ. 138 The Superintendent delivers the order, with the drafts and specifications, to the master shipwright. |
5. A preliminary sketch or rough form of a writing or document, from which the final or fair copy is made.
| [1528–1831 see draught 32.] 1769 Burke Corr. (1844) I. 187, I have seen the draft of the petition. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) IV. 474 A draft of the conveyance was prepared by Mr. Booth, as counsel for the purchaser. 1887 Spectator 9 July 921/1 The latest draft of Thames Conservancy bye-laws, now awaiting the Order of Council. |
6. Technical. a. Masonry. Chisel-dressing at the margin of the surface of a stone to serve as a guide for the levelling of the surface. Also draught, q.v. 43. b. ‘The degree of deflexion of a millstone-furrow from a radial direction.’ (Cent. Dict.) c. See quot. 1874.
| 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., Draft 6 (Pattern-making.) The amount of taper given to a pattern to enable it to be withdrawn from the mold, without disturbing the loam. 1878 Conder Tentwork Pal. II. 81 The stones are all drafted with the real Jewish draft, broad, shallow, and beautifully cut. |
7. attrib. a. Drafted or selected from the flock, as draft ewe. b. Drawn up as a preliminary or rough form whence a fair copy is afterwards made. c. draft-cattle, draft-horses: see draught 47 a.
| a. 1794 Ure Agric. Surv. Roxb. (Jam.), Those are picked out which are most unfit for breeders, and in best condition for the market. These are called Draught or Cast Ewes. 1878 Cumbld. Gloss., Draft sheep..a selection of the best annually. 1892 Northumbld. Gloss., Draught, the worst sheep ‘drawn’, or culled out from a flock. ‘Draught ewes.’ In parts of England these are called culls. 1894 Times 30 July 12/2 Draft ewes made up to 88s. per head. |
| b. 1879 E. Garrett House by Works II. 153 This was but a draft will, partly filled up. 1891 Law Times XC. 420/1 How unreal is the publicity afforded by laying draft rules upon the table in Parliament. |
d. draft tube, † box [draught n. 23], an air-tight tube or enclosure that at its upper end receives the discharge from a turbine and at its lower end extends below the level of the water in the tail-race; (orig. simply draft).
| 1840 Parker & McKelvey U.S. Patent 1658, The percussion and reaction wheel..is inclosed in a box or case, which is denominated a ‘draft’..the mouth of said draft-dipping into the water and being..below the level of the water in the tail-race. 1849 Jrnl. Franklin Inst. XLVIII. 402 The water passes from the wheels or rims into two air-tight chambers..called ‘draft boxes’, from which it passes into two air-tight iron tubes..called ‘draft tubes’, which..discharge the water beneath the surface of the lower level. 1876 Ibid. CI. 285 A turbine provided with this draft tube can be placed between both levels that constitute the fall, and produce the same result as if the turbine were placed at the bottom of the fall. 1927 Sel. Engin. Papers Inst. Civil. Engin. xxxiv. 3 Draught-tubes for hydraulic turbines may be either straight, or curved so as to divert the direction of flow through 90 degrees between the turbine and the tail-race. 1958 Engineering 28 Mar. 414/2 The draft tubes for two more units have been completed. |
▪ II. draft, v.
(drɑːft, -æ-)
[f. prec. n. Formerly spelt draught, which is still retained in some senses.]
1. a. trans. To draw off or out and remove (a party of persons, animals, or things) from a larger body for some special duty or purpose. Chiefly in Mil. use, and in Stock-farming: see quots. Also (chiefly U.S.), to conscript.
| [1714–1868 see draught v. 1.] 1724 Lond. Gaz. No. 6309/2 The..Corps out of which they have been drafted. a 1772 J. Woolman Jrnl. (1774) v. 86 Orders came..to draft the militia. 1833 H. Martineau Charmed Sea i. 6 Taddeus..had been drafted into one of the condemned regiments. 1847 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. VIII. i. 3 Many exceedingly good animals are drafted in consequence of some little want of uniformity..It is not uncommon with the ram-breeders to draft the whole produce from a sheep that has disappointed them. 1860 G. Duppa in S. S. Crawford Sheep & Sheepmen of Canterbury (1949) v. 46 Draft out rams as flock is dipped and keep them in a separate flock. 1862 O. W. Norton Army Lett. (1903) 102 We want them drafted if they won't volunteer. 1863 S. Butler First Year in Canterbury Settlement x. 153 You will see fit to draft out all the lambs that are ready for weaning. 1867 Rogers Pref. to Adam Smith's W.N. I. 7 Promising young Scotchmen are yearly drafted off to complete their studies at Oxford. 1889 Williams & Reeves Colonial Couplets 9 Dagging the hoggets, or drafting the rams. 1940 E. E. Cummings Let. 10 Nov. (1969) 158, I avoided the American army, by visiting France with a Norton Harjes ambulanceunit, merely to have myself drafted later and serve six months at Camp Devens. 1946 F. Davison Dusty viii. 80 He and Harry were bringing a mob in to the yards to draft out some ageing ewes. 1947 ‘N. Shute’ Chequer Board iii. 56 When I got drafted they..put me into a construction unit. 1953 M. Scott Breakfast at Six (1960) iv. 34 Presently Larry was summoned to help draft the sheep. 1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 17 Feb. 4/8 A representative of the U.S. Office of Education said more than 150,000 prospective graduate-school students probably would be drafted. |
b. More generally: To draw off or away.
| 1742 Fielding J. Andrews iv. i, All her rents had been drafted to London, without a shilling being spent among them. a 1875 Carpenter in Croll Climate & T. ix. 164 The cold and dense polar water..will not directly take the place of that which has been drafted off from the surface. |
c. transf. Esp., to force or persuade (a reluctant or allegedly reluctant person) to become a candidate for office. U.S.
| 1861 J. G. Holland Lessons in Life iii. 41 An old man..was drafted into the grand jury. 1927 Observer 4 Dec. 20/7 Mr. Smith will be nominated. Mr. Coolidge will be ‘drafted’ by acclaim of the Convention. The Republicans will win. 1948 Chickasha (Okla.) Daily Express 4 July 1/1 Nevertheless he could be drafted, if a definite draft movement took place at Philadelphia. |
2. To make a draft or rough copy of (a document); to draw up in a preliminary form, which may be afterwards perfected. Rarely draught.
| 1828 in Webster. 1828 J. W. Croker Diary 11 July, The Duke..read me a letter..which he had drafted. 1873 Dixon Two Queens I. iii. ix. 168 The Articles were drafted into form and signed. 1878 Seeley Stein I. 456 It is not draughting a Bill, but passing it, that is the difficulty. |
3. Masonry. To cut a draught (or draft) on a stone: see also draught v. 4.
| 1878 [see draft n. 6]. 1890 Sayce in Contemp. Rev. 431 The stones of the glacis..are drafted. 1891 Edin. Rev. July 110 Megalithic masonry occurs on the Mole at Sidon, but it is not drafted. |
Hence ˈdrafted ppl. a.
| 1877 Black Green Past. iii, Some drafted bills. 1878 C. R. Conder Tentwork Pal. I. 352 Drafted masonry. 1894 Forum Oct. 153 Drafted or pre-announced oratory. |
▪ III. draft
obs. form of draff.