Emily Dickinson Lexicon

CHOICE, n. [Fr. choix; Arm. choas; Sax. cyse; D. keus. See Choose.]

1. The act of choosing; the voluntary act of selecting or separating from two or more things that which is preferred; or the determination of the mind in preferring one thing to another; election. Ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the Gospel, and believe. – Acts xv.
2. The power of choosing; option. Where there is force, there can be no choice. Of these alternatives we have our own choice. – Anon.
3. Care in selecting; judgment or skill in distinguishing what is to be preferred, and in giving a preference. I imagine Cesar's apothems were collected with judgment and choice. – Bacon.
4. The thing chosen; that which is approved and selected in preference to others; selection. Nor let thy conquests only be her choice. – Prior.
5. The best part of any thing; that which is preferable, and properly the object of choice. In the choice of our sepulchers bury thy dead. – Gen. xxiii.
6. The act of electing to office by vote; election. To make choice of, to choose; to select; to separate and take in preference.