▪ I. draught, n.
(drɑːft, -æ-)
Forms: α. 3–4 draht, draȝt, 4– draught; (4 draȝþe, drauht, 4–5 drauȝt(e, 4–6 draght(e, draughte, drawght(e, drawt(e, Sc. 5 drawcht, 6 draucht). β. 6 drafte, (7 drauft), 6– draft.
[Early ME. draht (prob. in OE., though not recorded), corresp. to MDu., Du. dragt, ? OHG., MHG. traht, Ger. tracht, Icel. dráttr (:—*drahtr), verbal abstract from Com. Teut. dragan to draw. The guttural sound of gh, ch, is retained in Sc.; in late ME. the word was sometimes drawt, whence the frequent (drɔːt) 16–18th c. rimes, but more usually the gh passed in pronunciation, through wh, into f, whence the spelling draft (q.v.) now established in some senses, in which the connexion with draw is less obvious.
All the senses in which draught is still the accepted or approved spelling are treated here; only those in which draft is established appear under that word. Many groups of senses have been derived independently from the verb, so that a satisfactory logical order is almost impossible.]
I. 1. a. The action, or an act, of drawing or pulling, esp. of a vehicle, plough, etc.; pull, traction. beast of draught: a horse or other animal used for drawing a cart, plough, etc. Also β. rarely draft.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xviii. cxv. (1495) 855 The worme drawith and halyth his bodi..wyth many dyuers drauȝtes. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 131/1 Drawte, or pulle, tractus. c 1460 Towneley Myst. (Surtees) 220 Pulle, pulle!.. Yit a draght. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §15 The harowe..goeth by twytches, and not alwaye after one draughte. 1633 T. Stafford Pac. Hib. iii. ii. 292 That bogs nor rocks, should forbid the draught of the Cannon. 1707–12 Mortimer Husb. (J.), The Hertfordshire wheel-plough is the best..and of the easiest draught. 1777 Robertson Hist. Amer. (1778) II. vii. 318 The Llama, which was never used for draught. 1873 Helps Anim. & Mast. i. (1875) 8 Beasts of draught and of burden. |
| β 1801 Trans. Soc. Arts XIX. 295 (This Crane) having a two-fold principle..making a perpendicular draft, and discharging the load at the same time. |
† b. Drawing of breath.
Obs.| 1490 Caxton Eneydos xxii. 82 [iv. 463] This byrde..syngyng of fyne manere in grete draughtes and of a longe brethe his right sorowfull songe. |
c. Drawing motion or action.
| 1851 Offic. Catal. Gt. Exhib. I. 401 Chaff-cutter..the shaft..being within the range of the long-way of the mouth⁓piece, gives the knives about 24 times the usual amount of draught, and causes them to cut, instead of chopping. |
2. That which is drawn.
† a. A load.
Obs.| a 1300 Cursor M. 21266 (Cott.) Four ar þai tald, þe wange-listes, Þat draues þe wain þat es cristes, O þaim i sal tell..Quat þai bitaken, and quat þair draght. c 1470 Henry Wallace ix. 1610 Dicson suld tak..his hors..a drawcht off wod to leid. 14.. MS. Douce 291, lf. 7 (Halliw.) The whiche..bere and drawe draghtes and berthennes. |
b. A quantity drawn: used as a specific measure of something drawn, extracted, or taken up.
| 1740 Dyche & Pardon, Draught..in Trade, it is so much goods as are carried upon one carriage at a time. 1847–78 Halliwell, Draught..sixty-one pounds weight of wool. 1881 Raymond Mining Gloss., Draught (S. Staff.), the quantity of coal raised to bank in a given time. 1893 Labour Commission Gloss. s.v., In the salt industry, a draught is the quantity of salt taken out of a pan each time the pan is cleared; sometimes..this drawing takes place once or twice a day. |
† 3. A drawbridge.
Obs.| 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 817 Þay let doun þe grete draȝt. c 1440 Partonope 1636 The porter lete the draught down falle. |
4. Something used in drawing or pulling, as harness for horses to draw with: see
quots.| 1483 Wardr. Acc. Edw. IV in Antiq. Rep. (1807) I. 43 The chiefe chare of the Quene..with v. paire of draughts. 1552 Huloet, Drawghte to drawe vp water after the sorte of a gybet with a paile at the one ende. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey). 1765 A. Dickson Treat. Agric. v. (ed. 2) 173 That part of the shoulders of the horses, to which the draught is fixed. 1851 Offic. Catal. Gt. Exhib. I. 395 Set of box whipple-trees, or two-horse draughts. |
5. A team of horses or other beasts of draught, together with that which they draw. Now only
dial.| 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §22 An housbande can not conuenyentlye plowe his lande, and lode out his dounge bothe vppon a daye, with one draughte of beastes. 1644 in Rushw. Hist. Coll. V. 649 The officers and souldiers shall be accomodate with draughts in their march. 1774 Beverley & Hessle Road Act ii. 15 Any person..keeping a team or teams, draught or draughts. 1891 Atkinson Moorland Par. 39 A stone waggon with a team,—a ‘draught’ we call it in our North Yorkshire Vernacular—of no less than 20 horses and oxen attached to it. |
II. 6. fig. Drawing, attraction; tendency, inclination, impulse.
arch. † (
β) also
draft.
| a 1300 Body & Soul 85 (Mätz.) To sunne and schame [it] was thi drauȝt. 1432 Paston Lett. No. 18 I. 31 For the goode reule..of the Kynges persone, and draught of him to vertue and connyng. 1758 W. Rickitt Jrnl. 73, I felt a draught to visit New England. 1829 Carlyle Misc. (1857) II. 81 A draught towards the Deep, a commencing giddiness. |
| β 1596 Spenser F.Q. iv. ii. 10 He..by his false allurements wylie draft Had thousand women of their loue beraft. a 1775 J. Churchman Life (1780) 37, I felt a secret gentle draft to visit to meetings in the back parts of Chester. |
III. 7. a. The act of drawing a net for fish, or (
quot. 1205) for birds.
| c 1205 Lay. 29259 Sparewen þerto liht. And he a þan uorme drahte Swið monie he ilahte. 1526–34 Tindale Luke v. 4 Let slippe youre nettes to make a draught. 1677 Hale Prim. Orig. Man. ii. ix. 208 Upon the draught of his Pond, not one Fish was left. a 1711 Ken Hymns Festiv. Poet. Wks. 1721 I. 362 Full three Thousand..At but one Draught he caught. 1823 J. F. Cooper Pioneers xxiii, Eager to witness the draught of the seine. |
b. A place where a net is wont to be drawn. (Also
draft.)
| 1895 Daily News 4 Feb. 8/5 Severn Salmon Fishing..the netting operations were greatly interfered with by masses of ice..and several favourite drafts were quite frozen over. |
8. The quantity of fish taken in one drawing of the net; a take. (
β) rarely
draft.
| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 67 Som fischeres solde a drauȝte of fische wiþ þe nettis. 1526–34 Tindale Luke v. 9 He was vtterly astonyed..at the draught of fisshe which they toke. 1635 E. Pagitt Christianogr. 241 This was a great draught in so short a time, and such as Saint Peter himselfe never made the like in all his life. 1833 H. Martineau Cinnamon & Pearls i. 13 To secure a good draught of fish. |
| β 1790 Burke Fr. Rev. Wks. V. 351 It has the whole draft of fishes in its drag-net. |
9. A measure of weight of eels, equal to 20 lbs.
| 1859 Sala Tw. round Clock (1861) 18 Eels are sold by the ‘draft’ of twenty pounds weight. 1891 Times 28 Sept. 4/2 Live eels, 20s. per draught; dead eels, 14s. per draught. |
IV. † 10. The drawing of a bow; a bowshot; also, the distance which a bow can shoot. See also
bow-draught.
Obs.| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 862 Wyþ þat schote his ffader he slow; Al vnwylland þat draught he drow. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xxv. 118 Þe ferthe commez behind him, as it ware ane arow draght. c 1400 Destr. Troy 1224 Lamydon..with-drogh hym A draght. 1581 Styward Mart. Discipl. i. 44 That euerie man haue a good and meete Bowe according to his draught and strength. 1605 Camden Rem. (1637) 209 Geoffray..at one draught of his bowe..broched three feetlesse birds called Allerions. |
† 11. The drawing or sweep of a weapon; a stroke, a blow.
Obs.| c 1320 Sir Beues (MS. A) 868 Sum kniȝt Beues so ofrauȝte Þe heued of at þe ferste drauȝte. a 1400 Octouian 1666 No man ne myghte with strengthe asytte Hys swordes draught. c 1460 J. Russell Bk. Nurture 388, xij. draughtes with þe egge of þe knyfe þe venison crossande. 14.. Prose Legends in Anglia VIII. 109 Sche..smitith þe grounde with hir heed wiþ a meruaylous draughte. |
12. The drawing of a saw through a block of wood or stone; hence a measure of sawyers' work.
| 1404 Mem. Ripon (Surtees) III. 205 note, In sarracione xv draghtez..11d. c 1520 Ibid. 205 Johanni Henryson sawying waynscottes..xxxij dragttes, 1d. j draghth, 16d. 1812 J. Smyth Pract. of Customs 175 Scaleboards, from Germany, are packed in bundles, weighing 50 at each draught. 1847–8 H. Miller First Impr. vi. (1859) 91 He was cutting it [a block of Sandstone], by three draughts, parallel to its largest plane into four slabs. |
13. = cloff,
q.v. (Now usually
draft,
q.v. 1.)
| 1494 Fabyan Chron. vii. 342 Before tyme y⊇ weyer vsyd to lene his draught towarde the marchaundyse, soo that the byar hadde...x. or .xii.li. in a draughte to his aduauntage. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Draught..in Trade, an Allowance made in the weighing of Commodities. See Clough. |
V. 14. a. The drawing of liquid into the mouth or down the throat; an act of drinking, a drink; the quantity of drink swallowed at one ‘pull’.
† (
β) rarely
draft.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 199 [Þe neddre] cumeð to sum welle and drinkeð a draht swo michel þat heo chineð. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xx. 222 To drynke a drauȝte [C. xxiii. 223 drawt] of good ale. c 1440 York Myst. xxxvi. 240 A draughte here of drinke haue I dreste. 1555 Eden Decades 220 One of these..drunke a bowl of water at a draughte. 1636 Massinger Gt. Dk. Florence ii. ii. Plays (1868) 231/2 Let us take, then, Our morning draught. 1687 Shadwell Juvenal Sat. x. 37 No Poyson is in Earthen Vessels brought; In Gold adorn'd with Gemms beware each draught. 1732 T. Lediard Sethos II. viii. 158 Giscon drank the inflam'd potion at one draught. 1851 Offic. Catal. Gt. Exhib. I. 196 It forms a pleasant effervescing draught. |
| β 1583 Hollyband Campo di Fior 199 Empty thy cuppe..there is but a litle draft left. 1659–60 Pepys Diary 27 Feb., They brought me a draft of their drink in a brown bowl. |
† b. A fanciful name for a ‘company’ of butlers.
Obs.| 1486 Bk. St. Albans F vj b, A Draught of boteleris. |
15. a. A dose of liquid medicine; a potion.
| a 1656 Bp. Hall Occas. Medit. (1851) 153 On a medicinal Potion. How loathsome a draught is this! 1699 Dryden To J. Driden 94 Better to hunt in fields for health unbought Than fee the doctor for a nauseous draught. 1762 Gentl. Mag. 545 She spreads the couch, prepares the healing draught [rime unbought]. 1791 Mrs. Radcliffe Rom. Forest xii, I have ordered him a composing draught. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth xv, The incipient effects of the soporific draught. 1847 Tennyson Princ. ii. 233 To smooth my pillow, mix the foaming draught Of fever. |
b. black draught: a purgative medicine consisting of an infusion of senna with sulphate of magnesia and extract of liquorice. (Also
fig.)
| 1840 Thackeray Paris Sk.-bk., Fr. Fashionable Novels, Your dull black draughts of metaphysics. 1861 A. K. H. Boyd Recreat. Country Parson Ser. ii. 155 As if you gave a man a large jug of pure water, and then cast into it a few drops of black-draught. 1883 M. E. Braddon Gold. Calf vii, One of my black draughts wanted anywhere? |
16. Drawing of smoke or vapour into the mouth, inhaling; that which is inhaled at one breath.
| 1621 Venner Tobacco (1650) 402 To take 4 or 5 draughts of this fume. 1671 Milton Samson 9 The common prison..Where I, a prisoner chain'd, scarce freely draw The air imprison'd also, close and damp, Unwholesome draught. 1835 Marryat Jac. Faithf. i, There is no composing-draught like the draught through the tube of a pipe. |
17. fig. The ‘drinking in’ of something by the mind or soul; a portion of something, pleasurable or painful, ‘drunk’, partaken of, or experienced. (
Cf. drink v.; also
cup n. 9.)
| 1560 Becon New Catech. Wks. (1844) 295 Take him with the hand of thy heart, and chiefly drink him with the draught of thy inward man. 1750 Johnson Rambler No. 72 ¶1 Make the draught of life sweet or bitter. 1827 Pollok Course T. ix, Quaffing deep draughts of love. 1878 Geo. Eliot Coll. Breakf. P. 357 Ecstatic whirl And draught intense of passionate joy and pain. |
VI. 18. The action of drawing out to a greater length, extension, stretching;
concr. that which is drawn out or spun, a thread.
spec. in
Cotton-spinning, etc. the ‘drawing’ or elongation of the slivers by passing them between pairs of rollers revolving at different speeds. (See
draw v. 56 e). (
β) sometimes
draft.
| c 1400 Test. Love iii. (R.), The euen drauht of the wyer drawer, maketh the wyer to ben euen. 1577–87 Holinshed Scot. Chron. (1805) I. 2 The wool..is..spun so fine that it is in manner comparable to the spiders draught. 1719 J. Roberts Spinster 346 Flowered silk and worsted tammy draughts. 1875 Ure's Dict. Arts I. 975 The drawing operation, or draught, is..repeated in all the subsequent processes. 1877–81 W. C. Bramwell Wool-carder 44 (Cent.) What stands for ‘top’ in wool manufacture is called first drafts in silk-combing. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 274/1 One yard of lap is drawn out to one hundred yards of sliver. This draught may be increased or diminished. |
VII. 19. Naut. [See
draw v. 13.] The action of ‘drawing’ or displacing (so much) water; the depth of water which a vessel draws, or requires to float her. (
β) sometimes
draft.
| 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. v. i. 58 A bawbling Vessel was he Captaine of, For shallow draught and bulke vnprizable. 1627 Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. xi. 54 Her water draught is so many foot as she goes in the water. 1751 Act 24 Geo. II, c. 8 §2 Orders..touching the sizes and Draughts of all Boats, Barges and other Vessels. 1862 M. Hopkins Hawaii 10 For shipping of less draught, pilots are in attendance. 1873 Act 36 & 37 Vict. c. 85 §3 A scale of feet denoting her draught of water shall be marked on each side of her stem. |
| fig. 1882 J. C. Morison Macaulay 27 There was a defect of deep sensibility in Macaulay—a want of moral draught and earnestness. |
| β 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. II. 509 They then begin a..march, the regularity of whose step is essential to the draft of the vessel. 1860 Merc. Marine Mag. VII. 115 Her draft of water..was 16 feet 7 inches aft. Ibid. 122 The Channel..is the least dangerous for a steamer of draft. |
VIII. † 20. a. The action of moving along (
cf. draw v. 68); course, going, way.
Obs.| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 3745 Aȝen he maden here draȝt Al-so ðat skie haued taȝt. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 479 Out of Grece þer cam a bole; To Paris bestes was his draught, And wiþ Parys bole he faught. 1470–85 Malory Arthur xviii. i, They loued to gyder more hotter than they did to fore hand, and had suche preuy draughtes to gyder that many in the Courte spak of hit. |
† b. fig. Course, way of going on.
Obs.| a 1327 Pol. Songs (Camden) 153 Uch a strumpet that ther is such drahtes wl drawe. a 1400 Sir Perc. 2160 Thus es the lady so wo, And this is the draghte! |
† 21. A ‘move’ at chess or any similar game. [F.
trait:—L.
tractus.]
Obs.| c 1369 Chaucer Dethe Blaunche 653 At the chesse with me she gan to pley, With hir fals draughtes dyvers She staale on me. ? 1370 Robt. Cicyle (Halliw.) 54 With a draght he was chekmate. 1412 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. (Roxb.) 76. 1474 Caxton Chesse 133 The progressyon and draughtes of the forsayd playe of the chesse. 1594 Carew Huarte's Exam. Wits viii. (1596) 112 He..makes ten or twelve faire draughts one after another on the Chesse-boord. 1656 Beale Chess 3 The draught of a Pawne is only one house at a time. |
22. a. pl. A game played by two persons on a board of the same kind as that used in chess, which game it somewhat resembles, though of much simpler character, all the pieces or ‘men’ being of equal value and moving alike diagonally. (In
U.S. called
checkers, in
Scotl. dambrod.)
† (
β) rarely
drafts.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 1622 The draghtes, the dyse, and oþer dregh gaumes. a 1602 W. Perkins Cases Consc. (1619) 346 The games of chesse, and draughts. 1791 Boswell Johnson an. 1756, The game of draughts..is peculiarly calculated to fix the attention without straining it. 1870 Hardy & Ware Mod. Hoyle 105 Draughts is entirely a game of mathematical calculation. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 391 These pastimes are not so very unlike a game of draughts. |
| β 1726 Franklin Jrnl. Wks. 1887 I. 116, I tire myself with playing at drafts. 1796 Owen Trav. Europe II. 405 The evening was passed in a variety of amusements. Some were occupied at drafts. 1816 Keatinge Trav. (1817) I. 308 They play at what we call Polish drafts. |
b. One of the pieces used in this game:
= draughtsman 4. (Usually in
pl.)
| 1894 ‘Chequerist’ (R. A. Williams) How to play Draughts well 14 The Draughts must be so turned that one man will stand on another for ‘crowning’. |
IX. 23. a. A current, stream, flow.
| 1601 Holland Pliny I. 7 Whiles she [the moon] is turned away, all the draught of light, she casteth thither backe againe, from whence she receiued it. 1688 T. Smith Voy. Constantinople in Misc. Cur. (1708) III. 11 There is a vast draught of water poured continually out of the Atlantick into the Mediteranean. 1751 Johnson Rambler No. 102 ¶12 The draught of the gulph was generally too strong to be overcome. 1819 J. Wilson Compl. Dict. Astrol. 161 The..sympathy which causes..the mother to feel the draught flow into her breasts some seconds before the child awakes. 1822 J. Flint Lett. Amer. 75 On approaching rapids, I was usually in the very draught of them, before I could discern the proper channel. 1883 Syd. Soc. Lex., Draught..in the breast of a nursing woman. |
b. A stream course, a ravine (?). (Also
draft)
| 1807 P. Gass Jrnl. 101 Having found a tolerable good road except where some draughts crossed it. Ibid. 231 But the snow was not so deep in the drafts between them. |
c. Hydraulics. The area of an opening for a flow of water: see
quot. (Also
draft.)
| 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., Draft..8, The combined sectional area of the openings in a turbine water-wheel; or the area of opening of the sluice-gate of a fore-bay. |
24. a. A current of air,
esp. in a confined space, as a room or a chimney. Phr.
to feel the draught: see
feel v. 6 b. (
β) sometimes
draft.
natural draught: the current of air that passes through the fire in a steam boiler, etc. without mechanical aid, as distinguished from
blast draught,
forced draught, that artificially increased either by rarifying the air above the fire or by compressing it below the same.
| 1768–74 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1852) II. 478 We feel and hear the draught of air, and see the commotions it raises among the trees. 1812–16 J. Smith Panorama Sc. & Art II. 315 The height of the chimney has an important effect on the draught of a wind-furnace. 1844 Dickens Lett. (1880) I. 110 A sore throat; from sitting in constant draughts. 1864 Webster, Blast draught..Forced draught..Natural draught. 1896 Times (weekly ed.) 18 Sept. 641/3 The steam trials of the Victorious, battleship, have proved remarkably successful, the contract speed for natural and forced draught having been exceeded. |
| β 1812–16 J. Smith Panorama Sc. & Art I. 246 The nearer the throat [of the chimney] is brought to the fire, the stronger the draft will be. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xxvii. 207 The drafts from the doors and from the windows. 1873 Longfellow Wayside Inn, Emma & Eginhard Interlude 57 That draft of cold, Unpleasant night air. |
b. An appliance for creating a draught in a fire-place; a blower. (Also
draft.)
| 1874 Mrs. Whitney We Girls vi. 129 The drafts were put on, and in five minutes the coals were red. |
X. † 25. The drawing of a brush, pen, pencil, or the like, across a surface, so as to make a line or mark; the mark so made; a stroke. [F.
trait]
Obs.| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 3624 Besseleel, And eliab, he maden wel ðe tabernacle..Goten and grauen wið witter draȝt. c 1305 Edmund Conf. 224 in E.E.P. (1862) 77 Arsmetrike is a lore..of figours..And of drauȝtes as me draweþ in poudre. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 1557 Þer watz neuer on so wyse couþe on worde rede..What tyþyng ne tale tokened þo draȝtes. 1548 Thomas Ital. Dict. (1567), Lineamenti, strikes or draughtes of a figure. 1570 Billingsley Euclid i. def. iv. 2 A right line is the shortest extension or draught..from one poynt to an other. 1594 T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. ii. 119 It is time to draw the last draught of the pensill vpon the face. 1662 Stillingfl. Orig. Sacr. i. i. §19 How to express all kind of sounds, with the several draughts of a pen. |
† 26. Drawing of figures; delineation.
Obs.| 1551 Recorde Pathw. Knowl. i. xvii, For the manner of their draught wil declare, how many paires of parallels they shall neede. 1622 Peacham Compl. Gent. xiii. (1634) 127 For your first beginning..in draught make your hand..ready..in those generall figures of the Circle, ovall, square, &c. 1706 Art of Painting (1744) 357 Had his colouring and penciling been as good as his draught. a 1734 North Lives (1826) II. 211 Painters, and such as practise draught. |
† 27. a. That which is drawn or delineated; a representation (
of an object) by lines drawn on the surface of paper, etc.; a drawing, picture, sketch. (
β) rarely
draft.
Obs. in general sense.
| a 1400–50 Alexander 280 In þis oþir draȝt ware deuysid a dusan of bestis. 1584 Peele Arraignm. Paris i. i, A dainty draught to lay her [Venus] down in blue. 1667 H. Oldenburg in Phil. Trans. II. 420 Sufficiently skilled..to make a Draught of the Place. 1759 B. Martin Nat. Hist. Eng. II. 109 The Draught of an old Saxon Coin. 1779–81 Johnson Ascham Wks. IV. 621 He..embellished [his pages] with elegant draughts and illuminations. |
| β 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iv. xxv. 141 Lively drafts of a woman of estate of Græcia, of a Turky woman of meane estate [etc.]. 1658 Rowland Moufet's Theat. Ins. 930 This sort Pennius referreth to the species of the Wasp, and so he describeth it in his drafts. 1796 Stedman Surinam (1813) I. i. 19, I took a draft of the unhappy sufferer. |
† b. Representation in sculpture; a sculptured figure.
Obs.| 1646 Cleveland King's Disguise 88 Porches wrought With Sphynxes, Creatures of an Antique draught. 1658 Sir T. Browne Gard. Cyrus ii. 105 The sculpture draughts of the larger Pyramids of ægypt. 1686 tr. Chardin's Trav. 246 An old Tower built of Free-stone, of which you see the Draught in the Sculpture. |
28. a. spec. An outline, sketch, or design, preparatory to a completer work of
art.| 1573–80 Baret Alv. D 1166 The first ordinaunce, or first draught, which is done with a cole, adumbratio. 1579 Fulke Heskins' Parl. 58 The lambe [is] a shadowing figure, like the first draught of a painter. 1710 Shaftesbury Charac. iii. Advice to Author i. iii, Poetry..resembles the statuary's and the painter's [art] ..in this more particularly, that it has its original draughts and models for study and practice. 1771 Sir J. Reynolds Disc. iv. (1876) 359 A composition of the various draughts which he had previously made from various beautiful scenes and prospects. 1847 Emerson Poems, Day's Ration Wks. (Bohn) I. 482 Why need I galleries, when a pupil's draught..fills and o'erfills My apprehension? |
b. fig. Image, representation; something devised or designed like a work of art; slight or preliminary sketch or outline.
† (
β) rarely
draft.
| 1561 T. Norton Calvin's Inst. i. v. (1634) 12 This way of seeking God..that is, to follow these first draughts which..doe as in a shadow set forth a lively image of him. 1676 Dryden Aurengz. v. i. 2195 My Elder Brothers..Rough draughts of Nature, ill-design'd and lame. 1796 Owen Trav. Europe II. 99 The Bay of Naples and its environs form a draught of higher and more finished scenery, than I have yet seen. |
| β 1579 Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 92 Y⊇ image of God, yea, y⊇ perfect image..It is not a draft halfe drawen. |
29. A sketch in words; a slight or concise account, ‘outline’, abstract. (
β) sometimes
draft.
| 1503 Hawes Examp. Virt. Prol. i, The famous draughtes of poetes eloquent. 1569 T. Underdown Ovid's Invect. agst. Ibis Title-p., A short Draught of all the Stories and Tales contained therein. 1665 Epitaph at Beverley Minster, What ere I did beleeve, what ere I tavght..Resurgam of them all is the fvll dravght. 1690 Locke Hum. Und. ii. xxi. §73 Thus I have, in a short draught, given a view of our original Ideas. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 302 ¶8 This is but an imperfect Draught of so excellent a Character. 1751 Johnson Rambler No. 151 ¶6 Unable to compare the draughts of fiction with their originals. |
| β 1873 H. Rogers Orig. Bible ii. (1875) 90 Drafts of the future state given by religious systems of human origin. |
† 30. A plan, map, chart, plot. Also
draft,
q.v. 4.
Obs.| 1580 Hollyband Treas. Fr. Tong, Alignement, a Carde or draught. 1635 N. Carpenter Geog. Del. i. i. 2 The generall draught of the whole Iland. 1701 Boyer (title) The Draughts of the most remarkable Fortified Towns of Europe. 1875 Temple & Sheldon Hist. Northfield, Mass. 15 This tract of low land was partly included in the Wells's meadow draught. |
31. a. A ‘plan’ of something to be constructed, as a building. Also
draft,
q.v. 4.
| 1577 tr. Bullinger's Decades (1592) 396 That..there should be lawes concerning draughts, and order of buyldings. 1662 Gerbier Princ. Ded., The makeing of a Sumptuous Gate at Temple-Barr, whereof a Draught hath been presented to his Sacred Majesty. 1789 P. Smyth tr. Aldrich's Archit. (1818) 79 Let the architect first make a draught on paper of the intended work. c 1850 Rudim. Navig. (Weale) 116 Elevation, the orthographic draught or perpendicular plan of a ship, whereon the heights and lengths are expressed. It is called by ship-wrights the ‘sheer draught’. |
† b. A pattern, an outline drawing.
Obs.| 1594 Hooker Eccl. Pol. i. iii. §4 Certaine exemplary draughts or patternes. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. i. 342 When the corne is come uppe a man may see the draughts of streetes crossing one another. |
32. A preliminary ‘sketch’ or outline of a writing or document, from which the fair or finished copy is made. (Now usually
draft,
q.v. 5.)
| 1528 Test. Ebor. (Surtees) V. 250 Where ther is a draught of a Will of myne. 1659 Rushw. Hist. Coll. iii. (1692) I. 238 In the Draught of the Bill..it was further specified [etc.]. c 1680 Beveridge Serm. (1729) I. 263 This was the first draught of the new covenant. a 1715 Burnet Own Time (1766) I. Pref. 3 What I wrote in the first draught of this work. 1738 Birch Milton in M.'s Wks. I. 3 There are two Draughts of this Letter in his own hand writing. 1825 T. Jefferson Autobiog. Wks. 1859 I. 7, I prepared a draught of instructions to be given to the delegates. 1831 Brewster Newton (1855) II. xiv. 31 We have found several rough draughts of the changes which he intended to have made upon the scholium. |
† 33. Something drawn up or devised; a scheme, plan, design, device; a plot; an artifice. (
β) rarely
draft.
Obs.| 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 101 Richt quietlie..that draucht wes drawin. 1631 Rutherford Lett. (1862) I. 70 The counsels and draughts of men against the kirk. 1731 Pope Ep. Burlington 103 Greatness, with Timon, dwells in such a draught As brings all Brobdignag before your thought. |
| β 1873 H. Rogers Orig. Bible i. (1875) 21 How much this draft of morality..differs from that of heathen nations in general. |
XI. 34. The withdrawing, detachment, or selection of certain persons, animals, or things from a larger body for some special duty or purpose; the party so drawn off or selected;
spec. in military use. (Now usually
draft,
q.v. 2.)
| 1703 Lond. Gaz. No. 3888/3 Orders..for making a considerable Draught out of our Garison, in order to some Expedition. 1708 J. Chamberlayne St. Gt. Brit. i. iii. x. (1743) 245 The several garrisons, from whence Draughts are made for the army. 1780 T. Jefferson Lett. Writ. 1893 II. 343 We happened to have about 400 draughts raised..and never called out. 1794 T. Davis Agric. Wilts in Archæol. Rev. (1888) Mar., Draughts, hazel-rods selected for hurdle-making. 1872 Yeats Growth Comm. 31 Draughts of labourers were employed in Spain. |
35. Comm. a. The ‘drawing’ or withdrawing of money from a stock by means of an order written in due form. (Also
draft,
q.v. 3.)
| 1633 T. Stafford Pac. Hib. i. iii. 29 Fearing..lest some draught might bee drawen upon them. a 1715 Burnet Own Time (1766) I. 437 To get such draughts made on that bank..that there should be no money current there. 1758 Johnson Idler No. 47 ¶3 Payments by Draughts upon our banker. 1838 Prescott Ferd. & Is. ii. xix. III. 338 Replenishing the exchequer by draughts on his new subjects. |
b. A formal written order for the payment of money, ‘drawn on’, or addressed to, a person holding funds available for this purpose. (Now written
draft,
q.v. 3 b.)
| 1730–6 Bailey (folio), Draught, a bill drawn by a Merchant payable by another on whom it is drawn. 1745 Fielding True Patriot Wks. 1775 IX. 335, I have sent you a draught on your tutor according to your desires. a 1754 ― Ess. Char. Men Wks. 1762 IV. 358 [He] who relieves his friend in distress by a draught on Aldgate pump. [Note] a mercantile phrase for a bad note. 1767 Blackstone Comm. II. xxx. 467 In common speech such a bill is frequently called a draught, but a bill of exchange is the more legal as well as mercantile expression. 1790 in Dallas Amer. Law Rep. I. 195 Draughts made payable to the party himself. [1786 ― see draft 3 b.] |
XII. 36. The act of drawing forth or out; drawing (as of lots).
rare.
| 1807 Robinson Archæol. Græca iii. xvi. 264 To take fatidical verses..written..on little pieces of paper, to put them into a vessel; out of which they drew them, expecting to read their fate in the first draught. |
† 37. fig. Extraction, derivation; something derived, an emanation.
Obs.| 1483 Festivall (W. de W. 1515) 76 The synne y{supt} they had of the draught of kynde of our fader Adam and Eve. 1561 T. Norton Calvin's Inst. i. v. (1634) 11 Some say that Bees have part of minde divine, and heavenly draughts. |
† 38. A passage of a writing; an extract.
Obs.| 1382 Wyclif Esther Prol., The whiche boc the comun making drawith along hider and thider with the torne draȝtis. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 2667 Hypermnestra, And seyde, herof a draught, or two. 1601 Holland Pliny II. 373 Extracts and draughts out of those authors. |
† 39. An extract obtained by distillation. (Also
draft.)
Obs.| 1576 Baker Jewell of Health 230 b, To the draft or substance of the hearbs let the proper water be poured. |
40. The action of drawing liquor from a vessel; the condition of being ready to be so drawn.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 131/1 Drawte of..lycoure owte of a wesselle. 1851 Offic. Catal. Gt. Exhib. I. 234 By this machine, wines, spirits, stout, &c., can be kept on draught. |
41. Cookery. The entrails of an animal drawn out (
cf. draw v. 50).
Obs. or
dial.| 14.. Noble Bk. Cookry (Napier 1882) 88 Tak the draught of samon and mak it clene and put it in a pot. 1787 Mrs. Maciver in Kitchiner Cook's Oracle (1829) 373 Scotch Haggis..mince the draught and a pretty large piece of beef very small. 1825–80 Jamieson, Draucht, the entrails of a calf or sheep, the pluck. |
42. A mild blister or poultice that ‘draws’.
| 1828 Webster, Draught..18 A sinapism, a mild vesicatory. (So in later Dicts.) |
43. Masonry,
Arch., etc. (See
quots.)
| 1859–76 Gwilt Encycl. Archit. Gloss., Draught, in masonry, a part of the surface of the stone, hewn to the breadth of the chisel on the margin of the stone according to the curved or straight line to which the surface is to be brought. Ibid., In carpentry, when a tenon is to be secured in a mortise by a pin, and the hole in the tenon is made nearer the shoulder than to the cheeks of the mortise, the insertion of the pin draws the shoulder of the tenon close to the cheeks of the mortise, and it is said to have a draught. 1864 Webster, Draught..8 The bevel given to the pattern for a casting, in order that it may be drawn from the sand without injury to the mold. 1881 Young Every Man his own Mechanic §1313 Two chisel draughts are made at one side and the end of the stave something like what in joinery is termed a rebate. |
44. Weaving. The succession in which the threads of the warp are inserted into the heddles of the loom in order to produce the required pattern; the plan of ‘drawing’ of a warp (see
draw v. 8 b).
| 1822 A. Peddie (title), Linen Manufacturer, Weaver, and Warper's Assistant, with Tables, Drafts, Cordings, etc. 1875 Ure's Dict. Arts III. 979 s.v. Textile Fabrics, As the operation of introducing the warp into any number of leaves [of heddles] is called drawing a warp, the plan of succession is called the ‘draught’. Ibid. 982 Fig. 1955 represents the draught and cording of a fanciful species of dimity. |
XIII. [In sense 46
withdraught also occurs, and has been taken by some as the full word whence
draught has been shortened.]
† 45. (?) A cesspool, sink, or sewer.
Obs.| 1533 Bellenden Livy v. (1822) 479 Now..everie privat house hath the awin gutters and sinkes, for voiding of filthie excrementis, quhare before thay had ane commoun draucht. 1594 T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. ii. 126 Our whole body is within as it were a stinking draught or puddle that emptieth it selfe on euery side as it were by sinks and gutters. 1600 Holland Livy i. xi. Notes (1609) 1366 The image of this Cloacina was found in a privie or draught, called Maxima. 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. v. i. 82 Sweet draught: sweet quoth-a? sweet sinke, sweet sure. 1703 T. N. City & C. Purchaser Pref. 12 Some make this Place the Draught of their Houses. |
† 46. a. A privy: also
draught-house (see 48).
Obs.| ? a 1500 Wycket (1828) 7 Christ sayde all thynges that a man eatethe..is sent downe into the draughte awaye. 1513 More Rich. III Wks. 68/1 This communicacion had he sitting at the draught [1543 Grafton Drafte], a conuenient carpet for such a counsaile. 1530 Palsgr. 215/1 Draught a prevy, ortraict. 1607 Shakes. Timon v. i. 105 Hang them, or stab them, drowne them in a draught. 1681 W. Robertson Phraseol. Gen. (1693) 501 A draught or Jakes, latrina: secessus. |
| β 1537 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxford 142 [He] borowed a candell.. and serched the drawft and all the chambers on the back side. 1552 Huloet, Draft or Jaques..latrina. |
† b. Evacuation.
Obs. rare.
| 1659 Macallo Can. Physick 6 If in the draught there be found any piece of skin, it signifies the Guts to be ulcerate. |
XIV. attrib. and
Comb. 47. attrib. a. Of beasts: Used for draught or drawing (see 1). (
β) also
draft.
| 1466 Test. Ebor. II. 285 A draght ox. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §70 Melch kye and draught oxen. 1642 in Rushw. Hist. Coll. iii. (1692) I. 777 Draught-Horses..for the Artillery and Baggage of the Irish Army. 1786 Burke W. Hastings Wks. 1842 II. 141 Draught and carriage-bullocks for the army. 1832 G. Downes Lett. Cont. Countries I. 273 Strengthened with additional draught animals, both horses and bullocks, we commenced the ascent [of the Simplon]. |
| β 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. ii. i. 116 Yoke you like draft-Oxen. 1681 Lond. Gaz. No. 1635/4 Five good Draft-Horses. 1847 Leichhardt Jrnl. Introd. 17, I purchased five draft-bullocks. |
b. Of sheep: Drafted or selected from the flock; see
draft n. 7.
c. Of liquor: On draught; drawn or ready to draw from the cask: as
draught ale,
draught beer, etc.
| 1835 Dickens Sk. Boz (1837) 2nd Ser. 39 A pot of the real draught stout. 1893 Daily News 27 Feb. 4/7 Whisky will keep, and draft ale will not. 1971 Daily Tel. 13 May 13/6 Draught beer..is brewed from hops, malt and yeast and is served either by tap or by hand (suction) pump directly from the barrel. |
d. Of a document: Drawn up as a preliminary or rough copy. (Commonly
draft,
q.v. 7 b.)
| 1878 Seeley Stein II. 293 The document resembles closely..the draught Proclamation. Ibid. III. 323 In the form of a draught Act of Federation. |
48. Comb. a. in sense 1 (pull, traction), as
draught-bar,
draught-equalizer,
draught-harness,
draught-pole,
draught-rod,
draught-rope,
draught-spring;
b. in other senses, as
draught-phial (15),
draught-player,
draught-playing (22),
† draught-raker (46),
draught-furnace,
draught-regulator (24).
c. Special combs.
draught-board, the board on which the game of draughts is played;
draught-box (see
quot.);
† draught-boy = draw-boy;
† draught-breadths n. pl., ? the traces of a vehicle;
† draught-chamber, a chamber to withdraw or retire to, a private room;
draught-compasses n. pl. (see
quot.);
draught-dog = draught-hound;
draught-engine, the engine over the shaft of a coal-pit or mine;
draught-excluder, a device for excluding draughts;
draught-hole, a hole by which air is admitted to a furnace;
draught-hook (see
quots.);
† draught-hound, a hound used for tracking men or beasts by the scent [see
draw v. 74];
† draught-house, a privy (
= sense 46);
draught-line, a line on a ship marking the depth of water she draws;
draught-net, a net that is drawn for fish;
draught-proof a., fitted so as to be proof against draughts; hence
draught-proof v. trans.;
draught-screen, a screen for keeping off draughts;
draught-scroll, a scroll for regulating the draught of the roving on a spinning-mule;
draught-spring, a spring inserted between the tug or trace of a draught-animal and the car, wagon, or other load, so as to relieve the strain at starting, etc.;
draught-tube (see
draft tube s.v. draft n. 7 d);
† draught-vice, some machine or vehicle for drawing a load;
draught-way, a way along which something is drawn; a passage for a draught or current of air;
† draught-well, a draw-well. Also
draught-bridge, etc.
| 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., *Draft-bar. 1. A swingle-tree. 2. The bar of a railway-car with which the coupling is immediately connected. |
| 1726 Franklin Jrnl. Wks. 1887 I. 104 All this afternoon I spent..at the *draft-board. a 1833 Lamb Last Essays of Elia (Ainger 218) In..books which are no books..I reckon court calendars, directories, pocket-books, draught-boards bound and lettered on the back. |
| 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., *Draft-box..an air-tight tube by which the water from an elevated wheel is conducted to the tail-race. |
| 1687 Lond. Gaz. No. 2301/4 A Patent..unto Mr. Joseph Mason, for his new invented Engine, which saves all Weavers the Trouble..of a *Draft-boy. |
| 1617 Markham Caval. v. 54 The *draught-breadthes or Coach treates, which extend from the breast of the Horse to the bridge⁓tree of the Coach. |
| 1453 Marg. Paston in Paston Lett. No. 185 I. 250, I have take the mesure in the *draute chamer, ther as ye wold your cofors and cowntewery shuld be sette. 1463 Bury Wills (Camden) 22 The chambyr abovyn the kechene, with the drawgth chambyr longyng therto, with the esement of the prevy longgyng thereto. |
| 1706 Phillips, *Draught-Compasses, a sort of Compasses with several moveable Points, to make fine Draughts of Maps, Charts..etc. |
| 1656–7 in 7th Rep. Hist. MSS. Com. App. 575/2 A couple of whelps of the blood-hound strain to make *draught-dogs. |
| 1884 Symons Geol. Cornwall 196 To increase the efficiency of the *draught engine and to reduce the cost of fuel. |
| 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., *Draft-equalizer, a treble tree; a mode of arranging the whiffletrees when three horses are pulling abreast, so that all possess an equal leverage. |
| 1859 G. Measom Illustr. Guide Lanc. & Carlisle Railways 118 (Advt.), *Draft excluders. 1895 Army & Navy Co-op. Soc. Price List 15 Sept. 187 Patent Draught Excluder. This simple invention consists of a roller covered with plushette, which revolves between two brass brackets when the door is opened or closed. 1909 Lady's Realm July 271/2 A most effectual draught excluder. |
| 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 3 The saied Chariotes, and the *draught harnesses. |
| 1854 Ronalds & Richardson Chem. Technol. (ed. 2) I. 99 Above the sole of the furnace are three rows of *draught holes. |
| 1721 Bailey, *Draught Hooks. 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v., Large hooks of iron fixed on the cheeks of a cannon carriage, two on each side..called the fore and hind Draught-hooks..Used for drawing a gun backwards or forwards by men with strong ropes, called Draught-ropes. 1853 Catal. R. Agric. Soc. Show 2 A neck collar for..Farm Harness..has the draft-hook attached, and requires no hames. |
| 1598 Florio, Bracco, a beagle, a hound, a spaniell, a blood hound, a *draught hound. 1741 Compl. Fam.-Piece ii. i. 291 Having their Harbinger, Blood-hound or Draught-hound in Readiness, they begin the Chace. |
| 1594 J. King On Jonas (1618) 69 They had..a goddesse for their *draught-houses. 1611 Bible 2 Kings x. 27 They..brake downe the house of Baal, and made it a draught-house [Coverd. prevy house]. 1884 J. Payne Tales fr. Arabic I. 18 So thou mayest enter the draught-house. |
| 1893 Act 36 & 37 Vict. c. 85 §3 The lower line of such..figures to coincide with the *draught line denoted thereby. |
| a 1631 Drayton Wks. IV. 1495 (Jod.) With my *draught-net then I sweep the streaming flood. 1873 Act 36 & 37 Vict. c. 71 §14 Any person who shall shoot or work any seine or draft net for salmon. |
| 1834 Good Study of Med. (ed. 4) III. 396 The dose of this water..was a *draught-phial full, and, consequently, about an ounce and a half. |
| 1886 Pall Mall G. 17 Feb. 4/1 The inmates were sitting reading, *draught playing, or otherwise amusing themselves. |
| 1893 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. Dec. 715 The *draft-pole is pivoted to eyes..attached to the forward face of the main frame. |
| 1908 Westm. Gaz. 17 Nov. 4/2 When closed it is entirely *draught-proof. 1929 Evening News 18 Nov. 5/1 It seats a pilot and two passengers in an enclosed draught-proof cabin. 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 12 Jan. 107/3 Use a draught-proof surround for the first 4–5 days. |
| 1960 House & Garden Oct. 119/1 Sound *draught-proofed doors and windows. 1965 E. Gundrey Foot in Door xii. 90 Three burly men called on an old lady and offered to draughtproof doors. |
| a 1605 Polwart Flyting w. Montgomerie 758 Halland shaker, *draught raiker. |
| 1857 Colquhoun Comp. Oarsman's Guide 32 (Locks). The *draught rod connects the paddle or sluice with the lever, the rack and winch, or the crowbar [that raises it]. 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., Draft-rod (Plow.), a rod extending beneath the beam from the clevis to the sheth and taking the strain off the beam. |
| 1907 N. Munro Daft Days xv. 129 She got him in behind the *draft-screen on the landing of the stair. 1922 F. J. Niven Justice of Peace x, Behind the draught-screen was the sound of soap-lather and water. 1968 Listener 20 June 798/3 He had a wooden draughtscreen..and that was elaborately painted. |
| 1894 C. Vickerman Woollen Spinning 233 The form of the *draft-scroll has to be varied in diameter at different points to suit the twine at different portions of the draft. |
| 1609 Holland Amm. Marcell. xvii. iv. 84 [The Egyptian Obelisk]..beeing layed upon certaine *draught-vices and engines..was..brought into the Circus Maximus. |
| 1835 Thirlwall Greece I. i. 17 Along this line, hence called the Diolcus, or *Draughtway, vessels were often transported from sea to sea. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 257/2 The metal being kept perfectly cool by the increased draughtway. |
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 131/1 *Drawte welle, haurium. |
▪ II. draught, v. (
drɑːft,
-æ-)
[f. draught n.] 1. trans. To draw off (a party of persons, animals, etc.) from a larger body for some special duty or purpose. (Now commonly
draft,
q.v. 1.)
| 1714 Lond. Gaz. No. 5193/4 Who was Draughted into Sir John Gibson's Company of Invalid Serjeants. 1745 Gentl. Mag. 664 An order..for draughting out of the train of artillery..130 matrosses. 1758 J. Blake Plan Mar. Syst. 12 The commander..shall draught off an equal number of men..to supply their places. 1868 E. Edwards Raleigh I. xi. 211 The soldiers..were hastily draughted off to their respective vessels. |
2. To make a plan or sketch of;
esp. to draw a preliminary plan of (something to be constructed); to design. (Sometimes
draft.)
| 1828 Webster, Draft, to draw the outline, to delineate. 1851 Kipping Sailmaking (ed. 2) 138 To have a right understanding of draughting sails, geometry ought to be studied. 1863 Longfellow Wayside Inn i. Building of Long Serpent iii, Drafting That new vessel for King Olaf. |
3. To treat with draughts (of medicine), administer draughts to.
rare. (
Cf. dose v.)
| 1768 Foote Devil on 2 Sticks iii. Wks. 1799 II. 275 Power..to pill..draught..and poultice, all persons. |
4. Masonry. To cut a draught upon: see
draught n. 43. (Also
draft,
q.v. 3.)
| 1848 [see draughted ppl. a. below]. 1888 Daily News 15 Sept. 3/1 They [stones] are draughted all round, but left rough on the outer face. |
5. Weaving. To draw (the threads of the warp) through the heddles of the loom:
= draw v. 8 b.
Hence
draughted ppl. a.,
draughting vbl. n.;
esp. = draught n. 44.
| 1796 H. Hunter tr. St. Pierre's Stud. Nat. (1799) III. 529 The draughting of their children into the Militia. 1848 W. H. Bartlett Egypt to Pal. xx. (1879) 438 The old wall..with its large draughted stones. 1878 A. Barlow Weaving 108 (Cent.) The draughting or entering of the warp threads through the headles. 1889 Anthony's Photogr. Bull. II. 218 Draftman's tracing paper..can be obtained of most dealers in drafting materials. |
¶ For other senses, see
draft v.