Etymology From French option, from Latin optiō (“choice; option; act of choosing”), from optō (“to choose, select”). Equivalent to opt + -ion.
1
One of a set of choices that can be made.
Luiz struggled with the movement of Helguson in the box, as he collected a long ball and the Spaniard barged him over, leaving referee Chris Foy little option but to point to the spot.2011 October 23, Becky Ashton, “QPR 1 - 0 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport:
Libertarian paternalism is the view that, because the way options are presented to citizens affects what they choose, society should present options in a way that “nudges” our intuitive selves to make choices that are more consistent with what our more deliberative selves would have chosen if they were in control.2012 January 23, Steven Sloman, “The Battle Between Intuition and Deliberation”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, archived from the original on 08 Jan 2012, page 74:
2
The freedom or right to choose.
The marriage had not been contracted by the father, who was apparently dead, but by an agnatic guardian, so that it was liable to cancellation at the option of the girl on her attaining puberty.1895, Roland Knyvet Wilson, A Digest of Anglo-Muhammadan Law:
3
Business, Finance, Law A contract giving the holder the right to buy or sell an asset at a set strike price; can apply to financial market transactions, or to ordinary transactions for tangible assets such as a residence or automobile.
There's a book out on us and there's gonna be a movie based on the book. ABC has bought the option for a movie to be made specially for T.V.1977 August 13, Pala Bennett, Mary Jo Risher, Ann Foreman, “"I'm A Mother, And I'm A Good One."”, in Gay Community News, volume 5, number 6, page 8:
4
Law The acquiring or retention of a nationality through personal choice as a right, bypassing selective legal mechanisms for naturalization, especially in cases where a territory is transferred or passed on from one state to another.
At that time every emigrant who was made aware of such a notification submitted his application for option to the British Consuls within the period prescribed.1928, Appeal to the Noble English Nation by the Committee of the Defenders of the Rights of Palestinian Arab Emigrants to the Palestinian Citizenship, page 10:
A right of option, mostly in favour of the nationality of the predecessor State, has been accorded in most cases of partial State succession, either by treaty or by domestic legislation.1998, Venice Commission, Consequences of State Succession for Nationality, →ISBN, page 45:
1 more example
This group constitutes around 9 percent of the total number of acquisitions of Dutch nationality through option.2012, Oliver W. Vonk, Dual Nationality in the European Union: A Study on Changing Norms […], →ISBN, page 243, note 154: