Draft

Draft Draft (dr[.a]ft), n. [The same word as draught. OE. draught, draht, fr. AS. dragan to draw. See {Draw}, and cf. {Draught}.] 1. The act of drawing; also, the thing drawn. Same as {Draught}. [1913 Webster]

Everything available for draft burden. -- S. G. Goodrich. [1913 Webster]

2. (Mil.) A selecting or detaching of soldiers from an army, or from any part of it, or from a military post; also from any district, or any company or collection of persons, or from the people at large; also, the body of men thus drafted. [1913 Webster]

Several of the States had supplied the deficiency by drafts to serve for the year. --Marshall. [1913 Webster]

3. An order from one person or party to another, directing the payment of money; a bill of exchange. [1913 Webster]

I thought it most prudent to defer the drafts till advice was received of the progress of the loan. -- A. Hamilton. [1913 Webster]

4. An allowance or deduction made from the gross weight of goods. -- Simmonds. [1913 Webster]

5. A drawing of lines for a plan; a plan delineated, or drawn in outline; a delineation. See {Draught}. [1913 Webster]

6. The form of any writing as first drawn up; the first rough sketch of written composition, to be filled in, or completed. See {Draught}. [1913 Webster]

7. (Masonry) (a) A narrow border left on a finished stone, worked differently from the rest of its face. (b) A narrow border worked to a plane surface along the edge of a stone, or across its face, as a guide to the stone-cutter. [1913 Webster]

8. (Milling) The slant given to the furrows in the dress of a millstone. [1913 Webster]

9. (Naut.) Depth of water necessary to float a ship. See {Draught}. [1913 Webster]

10. A current of air. Same as {Draught}. [1913 Webster]

11. A quantity of liquid poured out for drinking; a dose. [PJC]

12. The act of drawing a quantity of liquid from a large container; also, the quantity of liquid so drawn. [PJC]

13. A device for regulating the flow of gases in a chimney, stovepipe, fireplace, etc.; as, to close the chimney draft. It is usually a flat plate of the same internal dimensions as the flue, which can be rotated to be parallel to or perpendicular to the current of gases. [PJC]