The Elderberries by Corey Pandolph and Phil Frank and Joe Troise for December 20, 2014

Here’s a math lesson for you, Professor. If you don’t buy a ticket your chances are 0.00%.

Funny and the definition is accurate if not precise (or true), however the etymology according to the OED is

Italian lotteria (whence French loterie , 1658 in Hatzfeld & Darmesteter), < lotto

which in turn comes ulitmately from ‘lot’

Old English hlot neuter (rendering Latin sors, portio) < Germanic type *hluto-m, < the weak grade of the root *hleut- (: hlaut-: hlūt-) occurring in the strong verb Old English hléotan, Old Saxon hliotan, Old High German lioȥan (Middle High German lieȥen), Old Norse hlióta, to cast lots, obtain by lot. The precise formal equivalent of the English word is not found elsewhere exc. perhaps in Old Frisian hlot (? neuter), Middle Dutch lot neuter (also masculine), Dutch lot neuter; but synonymous nouns from the same root appear in all the Germanic languages. From the weak grade are, besides those already mentioned, Old High German (h)luȥ (masculine), Old Norse hlut-r, hlot-r (masculine) (Middle Swedish luter, loter, Swedish lott, Danish lod), hlute weak masculine; from the form *hlaut- are Old English hlýt, hlét, hlíet (masculine) ( < Germanic *hlauti-z), Gothic hlaut-s (masculine) (rendering κλῆρος), Old Saxon hlôt (masculine), Old High German (h)lôȥ masculine and neuter (Middle High German lôȥ masculine and neuter, modern German loos, los neuter); compare also Old Norse hlaut (feminine), blood of sacrifice. The Germanic word was adopted into the Romance languages: French lot (whence lotir to divide, in Old French to cast lots), Italian lotto game of chance, Spanish lote, Portuguese lote lot, Spanish loto ‘lot’ put up to auction. Probably some of the uses of the English word are due to the influence of French lot.

:-P