sortition
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of sortition
1590–1600; < Latin sortītiōn- (stem of sortītiō ), equivalent to sortīt ( us ) (past participle of sortīrī to draw lots, derivative of sors lot, portion; see sort, -ite 2) + -iōn- -ion
Vocabulary lists containing sortition
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Athenians’ respect for sortition is apparent in the ingenious design of their lottery machine, the kleroterion, which was used to select jurors.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 27, 2022
Citizens’ assemblies are the latest incarnation of an idea called sortition, the random selection of representatives, that dates back to classical Athens.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 27, 2022
In the fifth century B.C.E. the city-state, whose patron deity was Athena, embraced sortition to such a degree that one might say it was de facto governed by Tyche, the goddess of chance.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 27, 2022
In political philosophy, selecting leaders by lot is called sortition.
From New York Times ● Jan. 3, 2018
No rotation; no appointment by lot; no mode of election operating in the spirit of sortition, or rotation, can be generally good in a government conversant in extensive objects.
From Selections from the Speeches and Writings of Edmund Burke by Edmund Burke
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
