Lot

Lot, ^* Anything on which depends the accidental determination of a right by which we acquire or lose something; or it is that which fortuitously deter-mines what we are to acquire. When it can be certainly known what are our rights, we ought never to resort to a decision by lot; but when it is impossible to tell what actually belong to us, as if an estate is divided into three parts and one part given to each of three persons, the proper way to ascertain each one's part is to draw lots. Wolff, Dr. &c., de la Nat. §669.

^* From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, 1856 Edition. Please see Bouvier's Legal Abbreviations & Abbreviated References for help with obscure nomenclature & references.