choice

choice [chois]

n.

[ME & OFr chois < choisir, to choose < Goth kausjan, to taste, test: see CHOOSE]

1. the act of choosing; selection

2. the right, power, or chance to choose; option

3. a person or thing chosen

4. the best or most preferable part

5. a variety from which to choose

6. a supply that is well chosen

7. an alternative

adj.

choicer, choicest

1. of special excellence; superior

2. carefully chosen

3. designating or of a grade of government-classified meat between prime and good

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of choice

that is or are preferred [medically the treatment of choice]

choicely

adv.

choiceness

n.

SYN.- CHOICE implies the chance, right, or power to choose, usually by the free exercise of one's judgment [a bachelor by choice]; OPTION suggests the privilege of choosing as granted by a person or group in authority that normally exercises the power [local option on liquor sales ]; ALTERNATIVE, in strict usage, limits a choice to one of two possibilities [the alternative of paying a fine or serving 30 days ]; PREFERENCE suggests the determining of choice by predisposition or partiality [a preference for striped ties ]; SELECTION implies a wide choice and the exercise of careful discrimination [selections from the modern French poets ]