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choice

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /tʃɔɪs/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English chois, borrowed from Old French chois (“one's choice”),[2][3][4] from choisir (“to choose; to discern, perceive”),[2][5] from Vulgar Latin *causīre,[4][6] of Germanic origin:[2][4] Barnhart, Klein and Merriam-Webster compare Gothic 𐌺𐌰𐌿𐍃𐌾𐌰𐌽 (kausjan, “to test, examine”).[3][7][8] The Germanic base is that of choose,[5][9] Old English cēosan (“to choose, taste”), from Proto-Indo-European *geus- (“to taste; to choose”).[2][4] Choice replaced the native Old English cyre (“choice, free will”), from the same base, probably because the French word sounded closer to choose.[2][3][6] The adjective is from the noun.[5][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The act of choosing: 1297[10] or about 1300,[2][3] and the power of choosing, before 1300[10] or the early 14th century.[2]

Semantic evolution

The thing or person chosen is from the late 14th century.[2] Something chosen for its excellence, the best part, is from 1494,[10] and a variety to choose among from 1486.[10] The adjective, “worthy to be chosen, excellent”, is from the mid-14th century,[2][10] and the Shakespearean choice spirit from 1591.[10] Hobson's choice, the option of taking the one thing offered or nothing, is from 1660.[10] In the United States, choice is a government grade of meat above good and below prime.[11]

Timeline

  • 1297 – the act of choosing.[10]
  • before 1300 – the power of choosing.[10]
  • mid-14th century – adjective, excellent.[2][10]
  • late 14th century – the thing chosen.[2]
  • 1486 – a variety to choose from.[10]
  • 1494 – the best part.[10]
  • 1660 – Hobson's choice.[10]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The act of choosing; selection.
  2. The power or right to choose; an option.
  3. The person or thing chosen.
  4. A range of things to choose from.
  5. The best part.

Adjective

  1. Of very fine quality; select.
  2. Carefully chosen: choice words.

Word family

  • choicely
  • choiceness
  • choiceless
  • anti-choice
  • multiple-choice
  • prechoice
  • pro-choice
  • sailor's-choice

Usage notes

The American Heritage Dictionary compares choice with alternative, option, preference, selection and election.[11] Word Origins notes that choose, brought by the Anglo-Saxons, and choice, which came through French from the same Germanic root, illustrate the mixture of the two sources of English.[12]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  8. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  9. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  11. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  12. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press