Drafting

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. Creating an initial version of a written work or document ; making detailed technical drawings or plans for construction or manufacturing ; choosing people to join a team or be conscripted into military service
2. Composing a rough outline or version of a text before finalizing it ; producing precise graphical representations of objects or buildings ; selecting participants or enlisting personnel, often by official or organized methods
3. Formulating a first form of a contract, letter, or report ; developing blueprints or diagrams used in engineering or architecture ; the process of recruiting individuals for sports teams or compulsory military duty

Etymology: The word "drafting" wears a spelling that hides its real ancestor. "Draft" is a phonetic respelling of "draught," which is the older form that still survives in phrases like "draught beer" and "draught horse." Both come from the same Old English root, "dreaht," meaning a pulling or drawing, and the sense of drawing something up is what led to a plan or design in Middle English, when a "draught" could be a sketch or outline. From that core idea of drawing something out, the word spread in two directions. Drawing up a plan or document gave us the modern sense of writing a first version of a contract, letter, or report, and drawing lines on paper gave us blueprints and diagrams in engineering and architecture. The sense of drawing people out for service followed the same logic: recruiting individuals for a team or for compulsory military duty is literally drawing them from a larger group.

Synonyms: drawing, sketching, designing

Antonyms: erasing