The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
Chapter 269
Choose <Xpage=251>
Choose , v. i. 1. To make a selection; to decide.
They had only to choose between implicit obedience and open rebellion. Prescott.
2. To do otherwise. "Can I choose but smile?"
Pope.
Can not choose but , must necessarily.
Thou canst not choose but know who I am. Shak.
Chooser <Xpage=251>
Choos"er (?) , n. One who chooses; one who has the power or right of choosing; an elector.
Burke.
Chop <Xpage=251>
Chop (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Chopped (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Chopping .] [Cf. LG. & D. kappen , Dan. kappe , Sw. kappa . Cf. Chap to crack.] 1. To cut by striking repeatedly with a sharp instrument; to cut into pieces; to mince; -- often with up .
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2. To sever or separate by one more blows of a sharp instrument; to divide; -- usually with off or down .
Chop off your hand, and it to the king. Shak.
3. To seize or devour greedily; -- with up . [Obs.]
Upon the opening of his mouth he drops his breakfast, which the fox presently chopped up. L'estrange.
Chop <Xpage=252>
Chop (?) , v. i. 1. To make a quick strike, or repeated strokes, with an ax or other sharp instrument.
2. To do something suddenly with an unexpected motion; to catch or attempt to seize.
Out of greediness to get both, he chops at the shadow, and loses the substance. L'Estrange.
3. To interrupt; -- with in or out .
This fellow interrupted the sermon, even suddenly chopping in. Latimer.
Chop <Xpage=252>
Chop , v. t. [Cf. D. koopen to buy. See Cheapen , v. t. , and cf. Chap , v. i. , to buy.] 1. To barter or truck.
2. To exchange; substitute one thing for another.
We go on chopping and changing our friends. L'Estrange.
To chop logic , to dispute with an affected use of logical terms; to argue sophistically.
Chop <Xpage=252>
Chop , v. i. 1. To purchase by way of truck.
2. (Naut.) To vary or shift suddenly; as, the wind chops about .
3. To wrangle; to altercate; to bandy words.
Let not the counsel at the bar chop with the judge. Bacon.
Chop <Xpage=252>
Chop , n. A change; a vicissitude.
Marryat.
Chop <Xpage=252>
Chop , v. t. & i. To crack. See Chap , v. t. & i.
Chop <Xpage=252>
Chop , n. 1. The act of chopping; a stroke.
2. A piece chopped off; a slice or small piece, especially of meat; as, a mutton chop .
3. A crack or cleft. See Chap .
Chop <Xpage=252>
Chop , n. [See Chap .] 1. A jaw of an animal; -- commonly in the pl. See Chops .
2. A movable jaw or cheek, as of a wooden vise.
3. The land at each side of the mouth of a river, harbor, or channel; as, East Chop or West Chop . See Chops .
Chop <Xpage=252>
Chop , n. [Chin. & Hind. ch\'bep stamp, brand.]
1. Quality; brand; as, silk of the first chop .
2. A permit or clearance.
Chop dollar , a silver dollar stamped to attest its purity. -- chop of tea , a number of boxes of the same make and quality of leaf. -- Chowchow chop . See under Chowchow . -- Grand chop , a ship's port clearance.
S. W. Williams.
Chopboat <Xpage=252>
Chop"boat` (?) , n. [Chin. chop sort, quality.] A licensed lighter employed in the transportation of goods to and from vessels. [China]
S. W. Williams.
Chopchurch <Xpage=252>
Chop"church` (?) , n. [See Chop to barter.] (Old Eng. Law) An exchanger or an exchange of benefices. [Cant]
Chopfallen <Xpage=252>
Chop`fall`en (?) , a. Having the lower chop or jaw depressed; hence, crestfallen; dejected; dispirited;downcast. See Chapfallen .
Chophouse <Xpage=252>
Chop"house` (?) , n. A house where chops, etc., are sold; an eating house.
The freedom of a chophouse . W. Irving.
Chophouse <Xpage=252>
Chop"house` , n. [See Chop quality.] A customhouse where transit duties are levied. [China]
S. W. Williams.
Chopin <Xpage=252>
Chop"in (?) , n. [F. chopine , fr. G. schoppen .] A liquid measure formerly used in France and Great Britain, varying from half a pint to a wine quart.
Chopin <Xpage=252>
Chop"in , n. See Chopine .
Chopine <Xpage=252>
Cho*pine" (?) , n. [Cf. OF. chapin , escapin , Sp. chapin , Pg. chapim .] A clog, or patten, having a very thick sole, or in some cases raised upon a stilt to a height of a foot or more. [Variously spelt chioppine , chopin , etc.]
Your ladyship is nearer to heaven than when I saw you last, by the altitude of a chopine . Shak.
Chop-logic <Xpage=252>
Chop"-log`ic (?) , n. One who bandies words or is very argunentative. [Jocular]
Shak.
Chopness <Xpage=252>
Chop"ness (?) , n. A kind of spade. [Eng.]
Chopper <Xpage=252>
Chop"per (?) , n. One who, or that which, chops.
Chopping <Xpage=252>
Chop"ping (?) , a. [Cf. Chubby .] Stout or plump; large. [Obs.]
Fenton.
Chopping <Xpage=252>
Chop"ping , a. [See Chop to barter.] Shifting or changing suddenly, as the wind; also, having tumbling waves dashing against each other; as, a chopping sea .
Chopping <Xpage=252>
Chop"ping , n. Act of cutting by strokes.
Chopping block , a solid block of wood on which butchers and others chop meat, etc. -- Chopping knife , a knife for chopping or mincing meat, vegetables, etc.; -- usually with a handle at the back of the blade instead of at the end.
Choppy <Xpage=252>
Chop"py (?) , a. [Cf. Chappy .] 1. Full of cracks. " Choppy finger."
Shak.
2. [Cf. Chop a change.] Rough, with short, tumultuous waves; as, a choppy sea .
Chops <Xpage=252>
Chops (?) , n. pl. [See Chop a jaw.] 1. The jaws; also, the fleshy parts about the mouth.
2. The sides or capes at the mouth of a river, channel, harbor, or bay; as, the chops of the English Channel .
Chopstrick <Xpage=252>
Chop"strick" (?) , n. One of two small sticks of wood, ivory, etc., used by the Chinese and Japanese to convey food to the mouth.
Choragic <Xpage=252>
Cho*rag"ic (?) , a. [Gr. <?/, <?/.] Of or pertaining to a choragus.
Choragic monument , a building or column built by a victorious choragus for the reception and exhibition of the tripod which he received as a prize. Those of Lysicrates and Thrasyllus are still to be seen at Athens.
Choragus <Xpage=252>
Cho*ra"gus (?) , n. ; pl. Choragi (#) . [L., fr. Gr. <?/, <?/; <?/ chorus + <?/ to lead.] (Gr. Antiq.) A chorus leader; esp. one who provided at his own expense and under his own supervision one of the choruses for the musical contents at Athens.
Choral <Xpage=252>
Cho"ral (?) , a. [LL. choralis , fr. L. chorus . See Chorus .] Of or pertaining to a choir or chorus; singing, sung, or adapted to be sung, in chorus or harmony.
Choral service , a service of song.
Choral <Xpage=252>
Cho"ral , n. (Mus.) A hymn tune; a simple sacred tune, sung in unison by the congregation; as, the Lutheran chorals . [Sometimes written chorale .]
Choralist <Xpage=252>
Cho"ral*ist (?) , n. A singer or composer of chorals.
Chorally <Xpage=252>
Cho"ral*ly , adv. In the manner of a chorus; adapted to be sung by a choir; in harmony.
Chord <Xpage=252>
Chord (?) , n. [L chorda a gut, a string made of a gut, Gr. <?/. In the sense of a string or small rope, in general, it is written cord . See Cord .] 1. The string of a musical instrument.
Milton.
2. (Mus.) A combination of tones simultaneously performed, producing more or less perfect harmony, as, the common chord .
3. (Geom.) A right line uniting the extremities of the arc of a circle or curve.
4. (Anat.) A cord. See Cord , n. , 4.
5. (Engin.) The upper or lower part of a truss, usually horizontal, resisting compression or tension.
Waddell.
Accidental , Common , and Vocal chords . See under Accidental , Common , and Vocal . -- Chord of an arch . See Illust . of Arch . -- Chord of curvature , a chord drawn from any point of a curve, in the circle of curvature for that point. -- Scale of chords . See Scale .
Chord <Xpage=252>
Chord , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Chorded ; p. pr. & vb. n. Chording .] To provide with musical chords or strings; to string; to tune.
When Jubal struck the chorded shell. Dryden.
Even the solitary old pine tree chords his harp. Beecher.
Chord <Xpage=252>
Chord , v. i. (Mus.) To accord; to harmonize together; as, this note chords with that .
Chorda <Xpage=252>
Chor"da (?) , n. [NL., fr. L. chorda . See Chord .] (Anat.) A cord.
Chorda dorsalis (<?/) . [NL., lit., cord of the back.] (Anat.) See Notochord .
Chordal <Xpage=252>
Chor"dal (?) , a. Of or pertaining to a chord.
Chordata <Xpage=252>
Chor*da"ta (?) , n. pl. [NL., fr. L. chorda cord.] (Zo\'94l.) A comprehensive division of animals including all Vertebrata together with the Tunicata, or all those having a dorsal nervous cord.
Chordee <Xpage=252>
Chor*dee" (?) , n. [F. cord\'82 , cord\'82e , p. p. of corder to cord.] (Med.) A painful erection of the penis, usually with downward curvature, occurring in gonorrhea.
Chore <Xpage=252>
Chore (?) , n. [The same word as char work done by the day.] A small job; in the pl. , the regular or daily light work of a household or farm, either within or without doors. [U. S.]
Chore <Xpage=252>
Chore , v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Chored (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Choring .] To do chores. [U. S.]
Chore <Xpage=252>
Chore (?) , n. A choir or chorus. [Obs.]
B. Jonson.
Chorea <Xpage=252>
Cho*re"a (?) . n. [NL., fr. Gr. <?/ dance.] (Med.) St. Vitus's dance; a disease attended with convulsive twitchings and other involuntary movements of the muscles or limbs.
Choree <Xpage=252>
Cho*ree" (?) , n. [F. chor\'82e .] See Choreus .
Choregraphic, Choregraphical <Xpage=252>
Cho`re*graph"ic (?) , Cho`re*graph"ic*al (?) , a. Pertaining to choregraphy.
Choregraphy <Xpage=252>
Cho*reg"ra*phy (?) , n. [GR. <?/ d<?/nce + -graphy .] The art of representing dancing by signs, as music is represented by notes.
Craig.
Choreic <Xpage=252>
Cho*re"ic (?) , a. Of the nature of, or pertaining to, chorea; convulsive.
Chorepiscopal <Xpage=252>
Cho`re*pis"co*pal (?) , a. Pertaining to a chorepiscopus or his change or authority.
Chorepiscopus <Xpage=252>
Cho`re*pis"co*pus (?) , n. ; pl. Chorepiscopi (#) . [L., fr. Gr. <?/; <?/, <?/, place, country + <?/ bishop. Cf. Bishop .] (Eccl.) A "country" or suffragan bishop, appointed in the ancient church by a diocesan bishop to exercise episcopal jurisdiction in a rural district.
Choreus, Choree <Xpage=252>
Cho*re"us (?) , Cho*ree" (<?/) , n. [L. choreus , Gr. <?/, prop. an adj. meaning belonging to a chorus; cf. F. chor\'82e .] (Anc. Pros.) (a) a trochee. (b) A tribrach.
Choriamb <Xpage=252>
Cho"ri*amb (?) , n. ; pl. Choriambs (<?/) . Same as Choriambus .
Choriambic <Xpage=252>
Cho`ri*am"bic (?) , a. [L. choriambicus , gr. <?/.] Pertaining to a choriamb. -- n. A choriamb.
Choriambus <Xpage=252>
Cho`ri*am"bus (?) , n. ; pl. L. Choriambi (#) , E. Choriambuses (#) . [L. choriambus , Gr. <?/; <?/ a choreus + <?/ iambus.] (Anc. Pros.) A foot consisting of four syllables, of which the first and last are long, and the other short (- \'de \'de -); that is, a choreus, or trochee, and an iambus united.
Choric <Xpage=252>
Cho"ric (?) , a. [L. choricus , Gr. <?/.] Of or pertaining to a chorus.
I remember a choric ode in the Hecuba. Coleridge.
Chorion <Xpage=252>
Cho"ri*on (?) , n. [NL., fr. Gr. <?/.]
1. (Anat.) (a) The outer membrane which invests the fetus in the womb; also, the similar membrane investing many ova at certain stages of development. (b) The true skin, or cutis.
2. (Bot.) The outer membrane of seeds of plants.
Chorisis <Xpage=252>
Cho"ri*sis (?) , n. [NL., fr. Gr. <?/ separation.] (Bot.) The separation of a leaf or floral organ into two more parts.
&hand; In collateral chorisis the parts are side by side. -- In parallel or median chorisis they are one in front of another.
Chorist <Xpage=252>
Cho"rist (?) , n. [F. choriste .] A singer in a choir; a chorister. [R.]
Chorister <Xpage=252>
Chor"is*ter (?) , n. [See Chorus .] 1. One of a choir; a singer in a chorus.
Dryden.
2. One who leads a choir in church music. [U. S.]
Choristic <Xpage=252>
Cho*ris"tic (?) , a. Choric; choral. [R.]
Chorograph <Xpage=252>
Cho"ro*graph (?) , n. [Gr. <?/ place + -graph .] An instrument for constructing triangles in marine surveying, etc.
Chorographer <Xpage=252>
Cho*rog"ra*pher (?) , n. 1. One who describes or makes a map of a district or region. "The chorographers of Italy."
Sir T. Browne.
2. A geographical antiquary; one who investigates the locality of ancient places.
Chorographical <Xpage=252>
Cho`ro*graph"ic*al (?) , a. Pertaining to chorography. -- Cho`ro*graph"ic*al*ly , adv.
Chorography <Xpage=252>
Cho*rog"ra*phy (?) , n. [L. chorographia , Gr. <?/; <?/ place + <?/ to describe.] the mapping or description of a region or district.
The chorography of their provinces. Sir T. Browne.
Choroid <Xpage=252>
Cho"roid (?) , a. [gr. <?/; <?/ chorion + <?/ form.] (Anat.) resembling the chorion; as, the choroid plexuses of the ventricles of the brain, and the choroid coat of the eyeball . -- n. The choroid coat of the eye. See Eye .
Choroid plexus (Anat.) , one of the delicate fringelike processes, consisting almost entirely of blood vessels, which project into the ventricles of the brain.
Choroidal <Xpage=252>
Cho*roid"al (?) , a. (Anat.) Pertaining to the choroid coat.
Chorology <Xpage=252>
Cho*rol"o*gy (?) , n. [Gr. <?/ place + -logy .] (Biol.) The science which treats of the laws of distribution of living organisms over the earth's surface as to latitude, altitude, locality, etc.
Its distribution or chorology . Huxley.
Chorometry <Xpage=252>
Cho*rom"e*try (?) , n. [Gr. <?/ place + -metry .] The art of surveying a region or district.
Chorus <Xpage=252>
Cho"rus (?) , n. ; pl. Choruses (#) . [L., a dance in a ring, a dance accompanied with song; a chorus, a band of dancers and singers. Gr. <?/. See Choir .]
1. (Antiq.) A band of singers and dancers.
The Grecian tragedy was at first nothing but a chorus of singers. Dryden.
2. (Gr. Drama) A company of persons supposed to behold what passed in the acts of a tragedy, and to sing the sentiments which the events suggested in couplets or verses between the acts; also, that which was thus sung by the chorus.
What the lofty, grave tragedians taught In chorus or iambic. Milton.
3. An interpreter in a dumb show or play. [Obs.]
4. (Mus.) A company of singers singing in concert.
5. (Mus.) A composition of two or more parts, each of which is intended to be sung by a number of voices.
6. (Mus.) Parts of a song or hymn recurring at intervals, as at the end of stanzas; also, a company of singers who join with the singer or choir in singer or choir in singing such parts.
7. The simultaneous of a company in any noisy demonstration; as, a Chorus of shouts and catcalls .
Chorus <Xpage=252>
Cho"rus , v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Chorused (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Chorusing .] To sing in chorus; to exclaim simultaneously.
W. D. Howells.
Chose <Xpage=252>
Chose (?) , n. ; pl. Choses (#) . [F., fr. L. causa cause, reason. See Cause .] (Law) A thing; personal property.
Chose in action , a thing of which one has not possession or actual enjoyment, but only a right to it, or a right to demand it by action at law, and which does not exist at the time in specie; a personal right to a thing not reduced to possession, but recoverable by suit at law; as a right to recover money due on a contract, or damages for a tort, which can not be enforced against a reluctant party without suit. -- Chose in possession , a thing in possession, as distinguished from a thing in action . -- Chose local , a thing annexed to a place, as a mill. -- Chose transitory , a thing which is movable.
Cowell. Blount.
Chose <Xpage=252>
Chose (?) , imp. & p. p. of Choose .
Chosen <Xpage=252>
Cho"sen (?) , p. p. of Choose . Selected from a number; picked out; choice.
Seven hundred chosen men left-handed. Judg. xx. 16.
Chosen <Xpage=252>
Cho"sen , n. One who, or that which is the object of choice or special favor.
Chouan <Xpage=252>