choisir French · revision 16475

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1050, Vie de saint Alexis (coisir)|origins=gem-pro *keusaną}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ʃwa.ziʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''choisir'''^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|coisir]], then ''choisir''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ Anglo-Norman also ''chesir'', ''chousir''.^(AND)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|coisir|t=to make out, see distinctly]], [[bor|got|𐌺𐌰𐌿𐍃𐌾𐌰𐌽|tr=kausjan|t=to taste, examine; to test]], like [[pro|causir]] (about 1070).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|16, 302b) Bloch and Wartburg think it was taken over very early, probably as a military term.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Wiktionary allows also a Frankish “*kausjan”; both go back to [[gem-pro|*kausijaną]], from [[gem-pro|*keusaną|t=to choose, taste]], the source of [[de|kiesen]] and [[en|choose]].^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992) Rey relates it to [[la|gustō|t=to taste]] through the Indo-European root [[ine-pro|*ǵews-]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Littré cites dialect forms such as [[pcd|keusir]] and [[wa|chûzî]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Its first sense, in the ''Life of Saint Alexis'' (about 1050), is “to make out, see distinctly”, ''choisir de l'œil'' “to catch sight of” is common in the 16th century.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “to take in preference” is first found in Chrétien de Troyes' ''Charrette'' (1177–79) and seems to have developed only in Gallo-Romance.^(TLFi) The old sense of seeing remained the main one until the end of the 15th century and died out in the 17th, except in French-speaking Switzerland.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992) In the 17th century ''choisir'' replaced its Latin-derived synonym [[élire]] in everyday use.^(DHLF 1992) The participle ''choisi'' took the classical sense of “select, refined” (1664): ''termes choisis''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1050 – ''Coisir'' “to see distinctly”, ''Life of Saint Alexis''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1155 – The noun ''chois'' “choice”.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1177–79 – “To take in preference”, Chrétien de Troyes.^(TLFi)

+ * 1509 – ''Choisir de l'œil'', Lemaire de Belges.^(TLFi)

+ * 17th century – The sense of seeing dies out.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|choose]], [[m|en|select]]: to take someone or something in preference to others: ''choisir un cadeau'', ''on l'a choisi pour ce poste''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert)

+ # To decide, to make up one's mind: ''choisir de partir'', ''il faut choisir''.^(Littré 1873)^(Larousse)

+ # ''(obsolete)'' To make out, catch sight of.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[choix]]

+ * [[choisi]]

+ * [[choisisseur]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[élire]]

+ * [[en|choose]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The proverb ''entre deux maux, il faut choisir le moindre'' means “of two evils, choose the lesser”.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}