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sortition

American  
[sawr-tish-uhn] / sɔrˈtɪʃ ən /

noun

  1. the casting or drawing of lots.


sortition British  
/ sɔːˈtɪʃən /

noun

  1. the act of casting lots

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

See Examples For:

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

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

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

The real effect of sortition was to equalize the chances of rich and poor without civil strife.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 4 "Aram, Eugene" to "Arcueil" by Various

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