means A game of chance in which people buy numbered tickets, one of which is later drawn at random to win a prize.

from From Old French 'rafle,' the name of a dice game, which also meant a snatching up or sweeping away — possibly echoing the Germanic root behind 'raffeln,' to snatch greedily. The dice game faded, but the word kept rolling, landing on the modern lottery of numbered stubs and church-fete prizes.