Obs. Forms: 4 chos, Sc. choss, 4–6 chose, 5 chooce, 6, 7 choose. [A variant of CHOICE treated as verbal sb. from CHOOSE, and assimilated in form to the verb. Perh. to a certain extent phonetic, oi being in 15–16th c. Scotch often reduced to o, e.g., rejose, jone; and conversely oi written for ō as rois, clois.]
1. The act of choosing, selection.
1375. Barbour, Bruce, III. 264. Giff that thaim war set in choss, To dey, or to leyff cowartly.
1430. Lydg., Chron. Troy, III. xxii. Some will have of chose geseran.
1548. Gest, Pr. Masse, 105. Ye prophet prophesieth … of the succession, chose, and acceptaunce of a new [sacrifyce].
1570–87. Holinshed, Scot. Chron. (1806), II. 237. Of whom could they better take choose than of a king their neighbour?
c. 1620. Z. Boyd, in Zion’s Flowers (1855), Introd. 23. Referring to the said revisours to make choose of such of my Workis.
2. Power, right or privilege of choosing.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 8550 (Cott.). Mi lauerd … gis þe chose [Gött. choys] o thinges thre.
1523. Ld. Berners, Froiss., I. lxiii. 85. Let them be at their chose.
1523. Fitzherb., Husb., § 144. He is an vnhappy man … that god … putteth hym in chose, and woll chose the worst parte.
3. Scope for choice.
1486. Bk. St. Albans, D iij a. Off spare hawke bellis ther is chooce.
