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].
"worthy to be chosen, distinguished, excellent," mid-14c., from choice (n.). Related: Choiceness.
English university slang term, supposedly a reference to Thomas Hobson (c. 1544-1631), Cambridge stable manager who let horses and gave customers a choice of the horse next in line or none at all. Phrase popularized c. 1660 by Milton, who was at Cambridge from 1625-29.
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.
Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to taste; to choose." It forms words for "taste" in Greek and Latin, but its descendants in Germanic and Celtic mostly mean "try" or "choose." The semantic development could have been in either direction.
It forms all or part of: Angus; choice; choose; degustation; disgust; Fergus; gustation; gustatory; gusto; ragout; Valkyrie.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit jus- "enjoy, be pleased;" Avestan zaosa- "pleasure," Old Persian dauš- "enjoy;" Greek geuesthai "to taste;" Latin gustare "to taste, take a little of;" Old English cosan, cesan, Gothic kausjan "to test, to taste of," Old High German koston "try," German kosten "taste of."
Irish surname, from O'(h)Aonghusa "descendant of Aonghus" ("one-choice").
c. 1300, eleccioun, "act of choosing" someone to occupy a position, elevation to office" (whether by one person or a body of electors); also "the holding of a vote by a body of electors by established procedure; the time and place of such a vote," from Anglo-French eleccioun, Old French elecion "choice, election, selection" (12c.), from Latin electionem (nominative electio) "a choice, selection," noun of action from past-participle stem of eligere "pick out, select," from ex "out" (see ex-) + -ligere, combining form of legere "to choose," from PIE root *leg- (1) "to collect, gather."
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.
also co-optation, 1530s, "choice, selection, mutual choice, election to fill a vacancy" on a committee, board, or society, from Latin cooptationem (nominative cooptatio) "election," noun of action from past-participle stem of cooptare "to elect, to choose as a colleague or member of one's tribe," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see com-) + optare "choose" (see option (n.)). Related: Cooptative.
