Dictionary entry

Raffle

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Raf″fle (răf″f'l), n. [F. rafle; faire rafle to sweep stakes, fr. rafler to carry or sweep away, rafler tout to sweep stakes; of German origin; cf. G. raffeln to snatch up, to rake. See Raff, v.] 1. A kind of lottery, in which several persons pay, in shares, the value of something put up as a stake, and then determine by chance (as by casting dice) which one of them shall become the sole possessor.

2. A game of dice in which he who threw three alike won all the stakes. Cotgrave.