Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Draft

Draft (drȧft) , noun

[The same word as draught. Old English draught, draht, from Anglo-Saxon dragan to draw. See Draw, and compare Draught.]

1.
The act of drawing; also, the thing drawn. Same as Draught.
Everything available for draft burden. — S. G. Goodrich
2.
(Military) A selecting or detaching of soldiers from an army, or from any part of it, or from a military post; also from any district, or any company or collection of persons, or from the people at large; also, the body of men thus drafted.
Several of the States had supplied the deficiency by drafts to serve for the year. — Marshall
3.
An order from one person or party to another, directing the payment of money; a bill of exchange.
I thought it most prudent to defer the drafts till advice was received of the progress of the loan. — A. Hamilton
4.
An allowance or deduction made from the gross weight of goods. — Simmonds
5.
A drawing of lines for a plan; a plan delineated, or drawn in outline; a delineation. See Draught.
6.
The form of any writing as first drawn up; the first rough sketch of written composition, to be filled in, or completed. See Draught.
7.
(a) (Masonry) A narrow border left on a finished stone, worked differently from the rest of its face.
(b)
(Masonry) A narrow border worked to a plane surface along the edge of a stone, or across its face, as a guide to the stone-cutter.
8.
(Milling) The slant given to the furrows in the dress of a millstone.
9.
(Nautical) Depth of water necessary to float a ship. See Draught.
10.
A current of air. Same as Draught.
11.
A quantity of liquid poured out for drinking; a dose.
12.
The act of drawing a quantity of liquid from a large container; also, the quantity of liquid so drawn.
13.
A device for regulating the flow of gases in a chimney, stovepipe, fireplace, etc.; as, to close the chimney draft. It is usually a flat plate of the same internal dimensions as the flue, which can be rotated to be parallel to or perpendicular to the current of gases.

Draft , adjective

1.
Pertaining to, or used for, drawing or pulling (as vehicles, loads, etc.). Same as Draught; as, a draft horse.
2.
Relating to, or characterized by, a draft, or current of air. Same as Draught.

The forms draft and draught, in the senses above-given, are both in approved use.

Collocations (1)
Draft box or Draft engine or Draft horse or Draft net or Draft ox or Draft tube , Same as Draught box, Draught engine, etc. See under Draught.

Draft , transitive verb

1.
To draw the outline of; to delineate.
2.
To compose and write; as, to draft a memorial.
3.
To draw from a military band or post, or from any district, company, or society; to detach; to select; especially, to compulsorily select and induct members of a population to serve in the armed forces.
HotLips Houlihan: How did a degenerate person like him achieve such a position of responsibility in the army? Radar: He was drafted. — M*A*S*H (the movie)
Some royal seminary in Upper Egypt, from whence they drafted novices to supply their colleges and temples. — Holwell
4.
To transfer by draft.
All her rents been drafted to London. — Fielding