Emily Dickinson Lexicon

CHOK'ING, ppr.

Suffocating; strangling.

CHOK'Y, a.

That tends to suffocate, or has power to suffocate.

CHOL'A-GOGUE, n. [col'agog; Gr. χοληγαγος, from χολη, bile.]

A medicine that has the specific quality of evacuating the bile.

CHOL'ER, n. [L. cholera; Gr. χολερα, from χολη, bile.]

1. The bile. By the superabundance of this fluid, anger was formerly supposed to be produced; or perhaps the opinion was that the bile caused the inflamed appearance of the face in anger. Hence,
2. Anger; wrath; imitation of the passions.

CHOL'E-RA, n.

A sudden evacuation of the alimentary canal, both upward and downward.

CHOL'ER-A-AS-PHYX'IA, n.

A disease differing from ordinary cholera morbus in a more rapid progress, in producing more violent spasms, in asphyxy, or cessation of pulse, and speedy death.

CHOL'ER-IC, a.

1. Abounding with choler. – Dryden.
2. Easily irritated; irascible; inclined to anger; as, a choleric man.
3. Angry; indicating anger; excited by anger; as a choleric speech. – Ralegh.

CHOL'ER-IC-NESS, n.

Irascibility; anger; peevishness.

CHO-LES'TER-IC, a.

Pertaining to cholesterin, or obtained from it; as, cholesteric acid. – Ure.

CHO-LES'TER-INE, or CHO-LES'TER-IN, n. [Gr. χολη, bile, and στερεος, solid.]

A name given by M. Chevreul, to the pearly or crystaline substance of human biliary calculi.

CHO-LI-AM'BIC, n. [L. choliambi.]

A verse in poetry having an iambic foot in the fifth place, and a spondee in the sixth or last. – Bentley.

CHON'DRO-DITE, n.

A mineral, called also Brucite. It occurs in grains or imperfect crystals, or in four-sided prisms with rhombic bases, truncated on the two acute lateral edges. It is translucent; and its color varies from reddish or amber yellow to grayish brown. – Cleaveland.

CHON-DROL'O-GY, n. [Gr. χονδρος, a cartilage, and λογος.]

The history of cartilages.

CHON-DROP-TE-RYG'I-AN, a.

Gristly finned.

CHON-DROP-TE-RYG'I-AN, n. [Gr. χονδρος and πτερυ.]

The chondropterygians are an order of fishes, characterized by the gristly nature of the spines which support the fins. – Cuvier.

CHOOSE, v.i.

1. To prefer; as, I choose to go.
2. To have the power of choice. The phrase, he can not choose but stay, denotes that he has not the power of choice, whether to stay or not. The verb, in these phrases, is really transitive; the following verb standing as the object, instead of a noun.

CHOOSE, v.t. [s as z. pret. chose; pp. chosen, chose. Sax. ceosan; D. kiezen; G. kiesen; Sw. kesa; Ice. kioosa; Fr. choisir; Arm. choasa; Pers. ghozidan. The Hebrew has קשש to collect. See Class Gs, No. 40, 70, 71.]

1. To pick out; to select; to take by way of preference from two or more things offered; to make choice of; as, refuse the evil and choose the good. The man the Lord doth choose shall be holy. – Numb. xvi.
2. To take in preference. Let us choose to us judgment. – Job xxxiv.
3. To prefer; to choose for imitation; to follow. Envy not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. – Prov. iii.
4. To elect for eternal happiness; to predestinate to life. Many are called, but few chosen. – Matth. xx. For his elect's sake, whom he hath chosen. – Mark xiii.
5. To elect or designate to office or employment by votes or suffrages. In the United States, the people choose representatives by votes, usually by ballot.

CHOOS'ER, n.

He that chooses; he that has the power or right of choosing; an elector.

CHOOS'ING, n.

Choice; election.

CHOOS'ING, ppr.

Selecting; taking in preference; electing.

CHOOS'ING-LY, adv.

By choosing.

CHOP, n.¹

1. A piece chopped off; a small piece of meat; as, a mutton chop.
2. A crack or cleft. See Chap, which, with the broad sound of a, is often pronounced chop.
3. The chap; the jaw: plur. the jaws; the mouth; the sides of a river's mouth or channel. [See Chap.]
4. In China, a permit or stamp.

CHOP, n.²

A Chinese word signifying quality, as silk or goods of the first chop.

CHOP, v.i.¹

1. To catch or attempt to seize with the mouth. [Not used.] To chop at the shadow, and lose the substance. – L'Estrange.
2. To light or fall on suddenly. – Johnson. If this is a legitimate sense, it indicates that the primary sense is, to throw, thrust, or strike. It is not in common use. To chop in, to become modish. [Not used.] – Wilson. To chop out, to give vent to. [Not used.] – Beaum.

CHOP, v.i.²

To turn, vary, change or shift suddenly; as, in seamen's phrase, the wind chops, or chops about. The various senses of this verb seem to center in that of thrusting, driving, or a sudden motion or exertion of force.