select

Founding-era definition · Webster's 1828 American Dictionary

SELECT', v. t. [Latin selectus, from seligo; se, from, and lego, to pick, cull or gather.] to choose and take from a number; to take by preference from among others; to pick out; to cull; as, to select the best authors for persual; to select the most interesting and virtuous men for associates. SELECT', adjective. Nicely chosen; taken from a number by preference; choice; whence, preferable; more valuable or excellent than others; as a body of select troops; a select company or society; a library consisted of select authors.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI

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