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select

Etymology and origin of the English word select

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1565
Ultimate origin
Latin (seligere)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /sɪˈlekt/, /səˈlekt/[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin sēlēctus, the past participle of sēligere “to choose out”,[2][3][4] from sē- “apart” and legere “to gather, choose”,[2][3][5] from Proto-Indo-European *leg- (“to collect, gather”).[2] It is related to elect, elegant, collect and legend.[6][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The adjective, chosen for excellence or fitness: 1565, in Cooper's Thesaurus, according to the OED and Barnhart.[7][3] The verb, to pick out in preference to others, is from 1566 in MWU, 1567 in the OED and Barnhart.[5][7][3]

Semantic evolution

“Choice, of special excellence” is by the 1580s.[2][7] Of persons or company, exclusive, it is from 1602,[7] and of a society admitting only certain members from 1842.[7] The noun, a selected person or thing, is from about 1600.[2] Of impersonal agencies, as in natural selection, the verb is from 1859.[7] Selection is from 1646–58.[3]

Timeline

  • 1565 – adjective, chosen.[7][3]
  • 1567 – verb, to choose.[7][3]
  • 1602 – exclusive.[7]
  • 1859 – of natural agencies.[7]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To choose someone or something from a group.

Adjective

  1. Chosen for being the best: a select group.
  2. Used by or open to only a few people; exclusive.

Word family

  • selectable
  • selectness
  • selector
  • selectability
  • selectly
  • preselect
  • reselect
  • selectee

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Select.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/select. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·