DRAUGHT (from the

See also:

• COMMON

common

See also:

• TEUTONIC
• TEUTONIC (GERMANIC) LANGUAGES

Teutonic word " to draw "; cf. Ger. 7'racht, load; the

See also:

• PRONUNCIATION (Lat. pronuntiatio, from pronuntiare, proclaim, announce, pronounce)

pronunciation led to the variant

See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form " draft," now confined to certain specific meanings)  , the act or action of drawing, extending, pulling, &c . It is thus applied to animals used for drawing vehicles or loads, " draught oxen," &c., to the quantity of fish taken by one " drag " of a net, to a quantity of liquid taken or " drawn in " to the mouth, and to a current of air in a chimney, a room or other confined space . In furnaces the " draught" is "natural " when not increased artificially, or " forced " when increased by mechanical methods (see BOILER) . The water a ship " draws," or her " draught," is the depth to which she sinks in the water as measured from her keel . The word was formerly used of a " move" in chess or similar games, and is thus, in the plural, the general English name of the game known also as " checkers " (see DRAUGHTS) . The spelling " draft " is generally employed in the following usages . It is a common term for a written order "drawn on " a banker or other holder of funds for the payment of money to .a third person; thus a cheque (q.v.) is a draft . A special form of draft is a " banker's draft," an instruction by one bank to another bank, or to a branch of the bank making the instruction, to pay a sum of money to the order of a certain specified person . Other meanings of " draft " are an outline, plan or sketch, or a preliminary drawing up of an instrument, measure, document, &c., which, after alteration and amendment, will be embodied in a final or formal shape; an allowance made by merchants or importers to those who sell by retail, to make up a loss incurred in weighing or measuring; and a detachment or body of troops " drawn off " for a specific purpose, usually a reinforcement from the depot or reserve units to those abroad or in the field . For the use of the term " draft " or " draught " in masonry and architecture see DRAFTED MASONRY .