Where does “lottery” come from?

Lottery comes from Italian lotteria, derived from Italian lotto, which was borrowed from Old French lot, ultimately tracing to Proto-Germanic hlutą meaning "share" or "portion" through Frankish hlot.

lottery (English): A scheme for the distribution of prizes by lot or...

Definitions

  1. A scheme for the distribution of prizes by lot or...

Ancestry of “lottery”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Italianlotterialottery; sweepstake
2Italianlottolot; plot; lottery
3FrenchLotshare (of inheritance)
4Middle Frenchlot—
5Old Frenchloz—
6Frankishlot—
7Proto-Germanichlutąlot, share; fate
8Proto-Indo-Europeanḱlew-to hear
9Proto-Indo-Europeanḱel-to cover; to incline

Words derived from “lottery”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱel- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱlew- →Every word from Proto-Germanic hlutą →
lottery — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer