Noun

(lb) A quantity of something that is part of the whole amount or number.

*

*:“I don't mean all of your friends—only a small proportion —which, however, connects your circle with that deadly, idle, brainless bunch—the insolent chatterers at the opera, the gorged dowagers, the worn-out, passionless men, the enervated matrons of the summer capital,!”

(lb) Harmonious relation of parts to each other or to the whole.

(lb) Proper or equal share.

*(Jeremy Taylor) (1613–1677)

*:Let the womendo the same things in their proportions and capacities.

The relation of one part to another or to the whole with respect to magnitude, quantity, or degree.

:

*(Lancelot Ridley) (ca.1500-1576)

*:The image of Christ, made after his own proportion .

*Sir (Walter Scott) (1771-1832)

*:Formed in the best proportions of her sex.

* (1800-1859)

*:Documents are authentic and facts are true precisely in proportion to the support which they afford to his theory.

A statement of equality between two ratios.

Size.

*

, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=8 , passage=The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again;

*{{quote-news, year=2012, date=May 20, author=Nathan Rabin

, title= TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Marge Gets A Job” (season 4, episode 7; originally aired 11/05/1992) , work=The Onion AV Club , passage=What other television show would feature a gorgeously designed sequence where a horrifically mutated Pierre and Marie Curie, their bodies swollen to Godzilla-like proportions from prolonged exposure to the radiation that would eventually kill them, destroy an Asian city with their bare hands like vengeance-crazed monster-Gods?}}

Noun

(en noun)

A large quantity or number; a great deal.

* W. Black

He wrote to her he might be detained in London by a lot of business.

* , chapter=3

, title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=My hopes wa'n't disappointed. I never saw clams thicker than they was along them inshore flats. I filled my dreener in no time, and then it come to me that 'twouldn't be a bad idee to get a lot more, take 'em with me to Wellmouth, and peddle 'em out. Clams was fairly scarce over that side of the bay and ought to fetch a fair price.}}

A separate portion; a number of things taken collectively.

One or more items auctioned or sold as a unit, separate from other items.

(informal) A number of people taken collectively.

A distinct portion or plot of land, usually smaller than a field.

* Kent

The defendants leased a house and lot in the city of New York.

That which happens without human design or forethought; chance; accident; hazard; fortune; fate.

* Spenser

But save my life, which lot before your foot doth lay.

Anything (as a die, pebble, ball, or slip of paper) used in determining a question by chance, or without human choice or will.

* Bible, Proverbs xvi. 33

The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.

* Shakespeare

If we draw lots , he speeds.

The part, or fate, that falls to one, as it were, by chance, or without his planning.

* Milton

O visions ill foreseen! Each day's lot's / Enough to bear.

* Alexander Pope

He was but born to try / The lot of man — to suffer and to die.

*

as Jones alone was discovered, the poor lad bore not only the whole smart, but the whole blame; both which fell again to his lot on the following occasion.

A prize in a lottery.

(Evelyn)

Allotment; lottery.

* 1990 : (Donald Kagan), Pericles of Athens and the Birth of Democracy , chapter 2: “Politician”, page 40 (Guild Publishing; 2239)

The Greeks expected their leaders to show physical courage, whether in the athletic arena or in battle, as well as piety, generosity, and nobility. Cimon had risen to power chiefly because of his military prowess, and any rival must be able to show at least honorable service and military competence. By this time, moreover, the generals were coming to be the most important political figures in Athens. Archons served only for one year and, since 487/6, they were chosen by lot . Generals, on the other hand, were chosen by direct election and could be reelected without limit.

All members of a set; everything.

The table was loaded with food, but by evening there was nothing but crumbs; we had eaten the lot .

An old unit of weight used in many European countries from the Middle Ages, often defined as 1/30 or 1/32 of a (local) pound.