choose English · revision 2700

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725, Beowulf|origins=ine-pro *ǵews-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /tʃuːz/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|chesen]], chosen,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|ċēosan|t=to choose, seek out, select; to decide, test, taste]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*keusaną]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) the source also of Old Frisian kiāsa, Old Saxon and Old High German kiosan, German kiesen, Old Norse kjósa and Gothic kiusan,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[ine-pro|*ǵews-|t=to taste, choose]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) the source also of Latin gustus “taste” and Greek geúesthai “to taste”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) The spelling choose, from 1545, is a respelling of Middle English chosen, a variant that arose from a shift of stress in the Old English diphthong.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) It is only remotely related to [[choice]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old English ċēosan is found about 725 in ''Beowulf'';^(Barnhart 1988) Middle English cesen is from 1123 and chesen from probably about 1150.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old English the verb also meant “to test, taste, try” and “to accept, approve”.^(Etymonline) The irregular past participle had levelled out to chosen by 1200,^(Etymonline) and the variant spelling chuse was very frequent in the 16th to 18th centuries.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) Johnson (1755) defined it as “to take by way of preference of several things offered”.^(Johnson 1755) ''Choosy'' is a 19th-century American word.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English ċēosan.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1123 – Middle English cesen.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1200 – past participle chosen.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1545 – the spelling choose.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To pick out from a number of possibilities; to [[select]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To decide on a course of action: ''she chose to stay''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To [[prefer]]; to want: ''do as you choose''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[chooser]]

+ * [[choosable]]

+ * [[mischoose]]

+ * [[prechoose]]

+ * [[rechoose]]

+ * [[choose up]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[choice]]

+ * [[choosy]]

+ * [[chosen]]

+ * [[gusto]]

+ * [[disgust]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The spelling ''chuse'', now archaic, was common until the 18th century.^(SOED 2002)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}