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Origin and history of choice

choice(n.)

mid-14c., "that which is choice," from choice (adj.) blended with earlier chois (n.) "action of selecting" (c. 1300); "power of choosing" (early 14c.), "the person or thing chosen" (late 14c.), from Old French chois "one's choice; fact of having a choice" (12c., Modern French choix), from verb choisir "to choose, distinguish, discern; recognize, perceive, see," which is from Frankish or some other Germanic source and related to Old English ceosan "to choose, taste, try" (from PIE root *geus- "to taste; to choose").

Late Old English chis "fastidious, choosy," from or related to ceosan, probably also contributed to the development of choice. Choice replaced Old English cyre "choice, free will," from the same base, probably because the imported word was closer to choose [see note in OED].

also from mid-14c.

choice(adj.)

"worthy to be chosen, distinguished, excellent," mid-14c., from choice (n.). Related: Choiceness.

also from mid-14c.

Entries linking to choice

choose(v.)

Old English ceosan "choose, seek out, select from two or more; decide, test, taste, try; accept, approve" (class II strong verb; past tense ceas, past participle coren), from Proto-Germanic *keus- (source also of Old Frisian kiasa, Old Saxon kiosan, Dutch kiezen, Old High German kiosan, German kiesen, Old Norse kjosa, Gothic kiusan "choose," Gothic kausjan "to taste, test"), from PIE root *geus- "to taste; to choose." Only remotely related to choice. Variant spelling chuse is Middle English, very frequent 16c.-18c. The irregular past participle leveled out to chosen by 1200.

anti-choice(adj.)

also antichoice, by 1978, American English, in reference to opposition to legalized abortion; from anti- + choice (n.). Compare pro-life.

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Trends of choice

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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pick

early 13c., picken "to peck;" c. 1300, piken "to work with a pick, to dig up," probably representing a fusion of Old English *pician "to prick," (implied by picung "a piercing, pricking," an 8c. gloss on Latin stigmata) with Old Norse pikka "to prick, peck," both from a Germanic

selection

1620s, "act of selecting, action of choosing, fact of being selected or chosen," from Latin selectionem (nominative selectio) "a choosing out, choice, selection," noun of action from past-participle stem of seligere "choose out, single out, select; separate, cull" (see select (ad

option

c. 1600, "action of choosing;" 1630s, "power or liberty of choosing," from French option (Old French opcion), from Latin optionem (nominative optio) "choice, free choice, liberty to choose," from optare "to desire, pray for, choose," which is of uncertain origin. De Vaan derives

election

electors by established procedure; the time and place of such a vote," from Anglo-French eleccioun, Old French elecion "choice...In Middle English also "act of choosing" generally, "choice, free choice" (c. 1400)....The theological sense of "God's choice of someone" for eternal life is from late 14c....Meaning "act of choosing, choice" is from c. 1400....

Angus

cooptation

also co-optation, 1530s, "choice, selection, mutual choice, election to fill a vacancy" on a committee, board, or society...

select

"Carefully picked," hence "choice, of special excellence" (by 1580s). Related: Selectly; selectness....The noun meaning "a selected person or thing, that which is choice" is recorded from c. 1600....

prize

"that which is obtained or offered as the reward of exertion or contest; reward or symbol of victory," spelling alteration of Middle English prise (c. 1300 in this sense), from Old French pris "price, value, worth; reward" (see price (n.)). Figuratively, "anything worth striving

potion

c. 1300, pocioun "medicinal drink, dose of liquid medicine or poison," from Old French pocion "potion, draught, medicine" (12c.), from Latin potionem (nominative potio) "a potion, a drinking," also "poisonous draught, magic potion" (source also of Spanish pocion "potion," ponzoña

way

Old English weg "road, path; course of travel; room, space, freedom of movement;" also, figuratively, "course of life" especially, in plural, "habits of life" as regards moral, ethical, or spiritual choices, from Proto-Germanic *wega- "course of travel, way" (source also of Old S

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