choose

English Online Dictionary. What means choose‎? What does choose mean?

English

Alternative forms

• chuse (obsolete)

Etymology 1

From Middle English cheosen, chesen, from Old English ċēosan (“to choose, seek out, select, elect, decide, test, accept, settle for, approve”), from Proto-West Germanic *keusan, from Proto-Germanic *keusaną (“to taste, choose”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵéwseti, from *ǵews- (“to taste, try”).

Cognate with Scots chuise, cheese (“to choose”), North Frisian kese (“to choose”), Saterland Frisian kjoze (“to choose”), West Frisian kieze (“to choose”), Dutch kiezen (“to choose”), French choisir (“to choose”), Low German kesen (“to choose”), German Low German kiesen (“to pick, select”), archaic and partially obsolete German kiesen (“to choose”), Danish kyse (“to frighten (via ‘to charm, allure’ and ‘to enchant’)”), Norwegian kjose (“to choose”), Swedish tjusa (“to charm, allure, enchant”), Icelandic kjósa (“to choose, vote, elect”), Gothic 𐌺𐌹𐌿𐍃𐌰𐌽 (kiusan, “to test”), Latin gustō (“I taste, sample”), Ancient Greek γεύω (geúō, “to feed”), Sanskrit जोषति (jóṣati, “to like, enjoy”), Russian кушать (kúšatʹ, “to have a meal, to eat”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: cho͞oz, IPA^(key): /t͡ʃuːz/
• Homophone: chews
• Rhymes: -uːz

Verb

choose (third-person singular simple present chooses, present participle choosing, simple past chose or (nonstandard) choosed, past participle chosen or (nonstandard) choosed or (now colloquial) chose)

1. To pick; to make the choice of; to select.
2. To elect.

3. To decide to act in a certain way.

4. To prefer; to wish; to desire.

Usage notes

• This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Conjugation

Derived terms

Related terms

• choice
• choosy
• chosen

Translations

Conjunction

choose

1. (mathematics) The binomial coefficient of the previous and following number.

   The number of distinct subsets of size k from a set of size n is ${displaystyle {tbinom }}$ or "n choose k".

See also

• Binomial coefficient on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Etymology 2

From Middle English chose, chos, chooce, a Northern dialectal form of Middle English chois (“choice”). Cognate with Scots chose, choose, chuse (“choosing, choice, selection”). Doublet of choice, which see for more.

Noun

choose (plural chooses)

1. (obsolete, Northern England, Scotland) The act of choosing; selection.
2. (obsolete, Northern England, Scotland) The power, right, or privilege of choosing; election.

References

• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “choose”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “choose”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Choose”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Cohoes, cohoes, ooches