Drawing Is Pulling: A Line, a Winner, a Cart
Drawing means making a picture with lines, but the verb behind it means to pull. That is why you draw water, draw a card and draw a match.
A drawing is a picture made with lines rather than paint. But *draw* itself is an old word meaning to pull, and English has kept every branch of that idea. You draw a bucket from a well, a horse draws a cart, a lottery draws a ticket, and an artist draws a line — all of them pulling something out or along.
- A picture made with pen or pencil. *A drawing of the harbour.*
- The act or art of drawing. *She teaches drawing.*
- The selection of winners by lot. *The draw is on Saturday.*
- A technical plan. *Working drawings for the extension.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | draw | Draw a circle. |
| Past | drew | He drew a map. |
| Participle | drawn | A hand-drawn sign. |
| Noun | drawing | A charcoal drawing. |
| Noun | draw | The match ended in a draw. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The architect sent over the latest drawings.In building work, drawings are the plans.
- He made a quick drawing on the back of a receipt.A drawing can be as slight as a sketch.
- Drawing from life is harder than copying a photograph.Drawing from life means with the subject in front of you.
All the things English draws
- Draw water — pull it up from a well
- Draw the curtains — pull them across
- Draw a card — pull it from the deck
- Draw a crowd — pull people in
- Draw a conclusion — pull it out of the evidence
From Old English *dragan*, to pull or drag — the same word as *drag*, which came into English later from Norse. The picture-making sense grew from the idea of pulling a pen across a surface, and appeared in English in the Middle Ages.
Drawing or sketch?
A sketch is quick and provisional. A drawing may be a finished work, and in engineering it is a precise document.
Why is a tied match called a draw?
From the sense of drawing the stakes back out of the pot when nobody has won them.