choose

verb, conj, noun — 7 senses

choose

verb

UK /t͡ʃuːz/ · CA, US /t͡ʃuz/

Etymology

From Middle English chesen, from Old English ċēosan (“to choose, seek out, select, elect, decide, test, accept, settle for, approve”), from Proto-West Germanic *keusan, from Proto-Germanic *keusaną (“to test; to choose”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵéwseti (“to choose, taste”), from *ǵews- (“to taste, try”). Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian kjoze (“to choose”), West Frisian kieze (“to choose”), Dutch kiezen (“to choose”), Low German kesen (“to choose”), German kiesen (“to choose”), Danish kyse (“to frighten”), Faroese and Icelandic kjósa (“to vote; to elect; to choose; to prefer”), Norwegian Nynorsk kjosa, kjose (“to choose”), Swedish tjusa (“to charm; to bewitch”), Gothic 𐌺𐌹𐌿𐍃𐌰𐌽 (kiusan, “to test”), French choisir (“to choose”); also Breton diuz (“to choose”), Cornish and Welsh dewis (“to choose”), Latin gustō (“to taste, sample”), Ancient Greek γεύω (geúō, “to feed; to taste; to eat; to try; to enjoy”), Czech zkoušet (“to taste; to examine; to rehearse”), Polish kuszać (“to eat”), Russian кушать (kušatʹ, “to have a meal, to eat”), Serbo-Croatian ку̏шати, kȕšati (“to taste; to test”), Ukrainian ку́шати (kúšaty, “to taste; to eat”), куштува́ти (kuštuváty, “to taste”), Avestan 𐬰𐬀𐬊𐬱𐬀 (zaoša, “pleasure”), Baluchi and Pashto دوست (dost, “friend”), Northern Kurdish and Zazaki dost (“friend”), Persian دوسْت (dōst / dust, “friend; boyfriend or girlfriend; loved”), Sanskrit जुषते (juṣate, “to enjoy”).

1

To pick; to make the choice of; to select.

  • I chose a nice ripe apple from the fruit bowl.
  • Secondly, VVhen in exerting any paſſion in action, vve chuſe means inſufficient for the deſign'd end, and deceive ourſelves in our judgment of cauſes and effects.1739, [David Hume], “Of the Influencing Motives of the Will”, in A Treatise of Human Nature: […], book II (Of the Passions), London: […] John Noon, […], →OCLC, part III (Of the Will and Direct Passions), page 249:
2 more examples
  • You may—the memory of what is past half makes me hope you will—have pain in this. A very, very brief time, and you will dismiss the recollection of it, gladly, as an unprofitable dream, from which it happened well that you awoke. May you be happy in the life you have chosen!1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Two. The First of the Three Spirits.”, in A Christmas Carol. […], London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, pages 67–68:
  • The Bat—they called him the Bat. Like a bat he chose the night hours for his work of rapine; like a bat he struck and vanished, pouncingly, noiselessly; like a bat he never showed himself to the face of the day.1920, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Avery Hopwood, chapter I, in The Bat: A Novel from the Play (Dell Book; 241), New York, N.Y.: Dell Publishing Company, →OCLC:
2

To elect.

  • He was chosen as president in 1990.
3

To decide to act in a certain way.

  • I chose to walk to work today.
4

To prefer; to wish; to desire.

  • The landlady now returned to know if we did not choose a more genteel apartment.1766, [Oliver Goldsmith], The Vicar of Wakefield: […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), Salisbury, Wiltshire: […] B. Collins, for F[rancis] Newbery, […], →OCLC:
  • Choose truth, and find beauty. Choose love, and embrace change.2016, Justin Deschamps, (Please provide the book title or journal name):
Synonyms
28 termsaccept, adopt, appoint, cast, choose, crave, decide, designate, desire, determine, elect, embrace, espouse, excerpt, extract, favor, opt, pick, poll, predestine, preponderate, prefer, separate, select, settle, single out, vote, winnow
Antonyms
compel, constrain, deny, forbid, refuse
Derived terms
26 termschoosability, choosable, chooseable, choose cone, choose one's battles, choose one's fighter, choose out, chooser, choose sides, choose the wrong horse, choose up, choose violence, choose-your-own-adventure, choose your own adventure, choosingly, cut and choose, divide and choose, forechoose, I choose violence, mischoose, nothing to choose between, pick and choose, prechoose, rechoose, right to choose, unchoose
Related terms
choice, choosy, chosen

choose

conj
Etymology

From Middle English chesen, from Old English ċēosan (“to choose, seek out, select, elect, decide, test, accept, settle for, approve”), from Proto-West Germanic *keusan, from Proto-Germanic *keusaną (“to test; to choose”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵéwseti (“to choose, taste”), from *ǵews- (“to taste, try”). Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian kjoze (“to choose”), West Frisian kieze (“to choose”), Dutch kiezen (“to choose”), Low German kesen (“to choose”), German kiesen (“to choose”), Danish kyse (“to frighten”), Faroese and Icelandic kjósa (“to vote; to elect; to choose; to prefer”), Norwegian Nynorsk kjosa, kjose (“to choose”), Swedish tjusa (“to charm; to bewitch”), Gothic 𐌺𐌹𐌿𐍃𐌰𐌽 (kiusan, “to test”), French choisir (“to choose”); also Breton diuz (“to choose”), Cornish and Welsh dewis (“to choose”), Latin gustō (“to taste, sample”), Ancient Greek γεύω (geúō, “to feed; to taste; to eat; to try; to enjoy”), Czech zkoušet (“to taste; to examine; to rehearse”), Polish kuszać (“to eat”), Russian кушать (kušatʹ, “to have a meal, to eat”), Serbo-Croatian ку̏шати, kȕšati (“to taste; to test”), Ukrainian ку́шати (kúšaty, “to taste; to eat”), куштува́ти (kuštuváty, “to taste”), Avestan 𐬰𐬀𐬊𐬱𐬀 (zaoša, “pleasure”), Baluchi and Pashto دوست (dost, “friend”), Northern Kurdish and Zazaki dost (“friend”), Persian دوسْت (dōst / dust, “friend; boyfriend or girlfriend; loved”), Sanskrit जुषते (juṣate, “to enjoy”).

1

Mathematics, Sciences The binomial coefficient of the previous and following number.

  • The number of distinct subsets of size k from a set of size n is tbinom nk or "n choose k".

choose

noun

Etymology From Middle English chose, chos, chooce, a Northern dialectal form of Middle English chois (“choice”). Cognate with Scots chose, choose, chuse (“choosing, choice, selection”). Doublet of choice, which see for more.

1

Northern England, Scotland, Obsolete The act of choosing; selection.

2

Northern England, Scotland, Obsolete The power, right, or privilege of choosing; election.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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