sortition

noun

sor·​ti·​tion sȯr-ˈti-shən 

: the act or an instance of casting lots

Examples of sortition in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The alternative was leadership selected by sortition from amongst citizens rooted in the common good and allowing every person to flourish through their greatest talents. — Robert B. Tucker, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026

The ancient Greeks invented democracy, and in Athens many government officials were selected through sortition — a random lottery from a pool of candidates. — Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 6 Sep. 2023

Citizens’ assemblies are the latest incarnation of an idea called sortition, the random selection of representatives, that dates back to classical Athens. — Ariel Procaccia, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2022

Private property first appeared as a concept in sacred contexts, as did police functions and a whole panoply of formal democratic procedures, such as election and sortition. — David Graeber, Harper's Magazine, 26 Oct. 2021

The ancient Athenian choice of sortition—the selection of government by lottery—was based on the understanding that elections would inevitably favor the aristocracy, and in a democracy the government should be a mirror of the governed. — Masha Gessen, The New Yorker, 15 July 2019

Word History

Etymology

Latin sortition-, sortitio, from sortiri to cast or draw lots, from sort-, sors lot

First Known Use

1597, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for sortition

• addition
• admission
• ambition
• attrition
• audition
• clinician
• cognition
• coition
• commission
• condition
• contrition
• dentition