DRAFT. A written order drawn on a banker or other holder of funds for the payment of money to a third person ; thus a cheque (q.v.) is a draft. A special form of draft is a banker's draft, an instruction by one bank to another bank, or to a branch of the bank making the instruction, to pay a sum of money to the order of a certain specified person.
The term is also used to describe an outline, plan or sketch, or a preliminary drawing-up of an instrument, measure, document, etc., which, after alteration and amendment, will be embodied in a final or formal shape ; an allowance made by merchants or importers to those who sell by retail, to make up a loss incurred in weighing or measuring; and a detachment or body of troops "drawn off" for a specific purpose, usually a reinforcement from the depot or reserve units to those abroad or in the field. For draft in compulsory military service, see CONSCRIPTION.