Deal
DEAL, (i) (A common Teutonic word for a part or portion, cf. Ger. Teil, and the Eng. variant " dole "), a division or part, obsolete except in such phrases as " a great deal " or " a good deal," where it equals quantity or lot. From the verb " to deal," meaning primarily to divide into parts, come such uses as for the giving out of cards to the players in a game, or for a business transaction. (2) (Also a Teutonic word, meaning a plank or board, cf. Ger. Diele, Dutch deel), strictly a term in carpentry and joinery for a sawn plank, usually of pine or fir, 9 in. wide and 2 to 45 in. thick. (See JOINERY.) The word is also used more loosely of the timber from which such deals are cut, thus " white deal " is used of the wood of the Norway spruce, and " red deal " of the Scotch pine.
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
