select

[si-lekt] /sɪˈlɛkt/
verb (used with object)
1.
to choose in preference to another or others; pick out.
verb (used without object)
2.
to make a choice; pick.
adjective
3.
chosen in preference to another or others; selected.
Synonyms: preferred.
4.
choice; of special value or excellence.
5.
careful or fastidious in selecting; discriminating.
6.
carefully or fastidiously chosen; exclusive:
a select group of friends.
Origin
1555-65; < Latin sēlēctus (past participle of sēligere to gather apart), equivalent to sē- se- + leg(ere) to gather, choose + -tus past participle suffix
Related forms
selectable, adjective
selectability, noun
selectly, adverb
selectness, noun
selector, noun
nonselected, adjective
reselect, verb (used with object)
unselect, adjective
unselected, adjective
well-selected, adjective
Synonym Study
1. See choose.
Examples from the web for selector
  • In digital circuit design, the selector wires are of digital value.
  • The binary value expressed on these selector pins determines the selected input pin.
British Dictionary definitions for selector

select

/sɪˈlɛkt/
verb
1.
to choose (someone or something) in preference to another or others
adjective
2.
Also selected. chosen in preference to another or others
3.
of particular quality or excellence
4.
limited as to membership or entry: a select gathering
5.
careful in making a choice
Derived Forms
selectly, adverb
selectness, noun
Word Origin
C16: from Latin sēligere to sort, from sē- apart + legere to choose

selector

/sɪˈlɛktə/
noun
1.
a person or thing that selects
2.
a device used in automatic telephone switching that connects one circuit with any one of a number of other circuits
3.
(Brit) a person who chooses the members of a sports team
4.
(Austral) the holder of a tract of land acquired by free-selection
Word Origin and History for selector

select

adj.

1560s, from Latin selectus, past participle of seligere "choose out, single out, select; separate, cull," from se- "apart" (see secret (n.)) + legere "to gather, select" (see lecture (n.)). The noun meaning "a selected person or thing, that which is choice" is recorded from c.1600. New England selectman first recorded 1640s.

v.

1560s, from select (adj.) or from Latin selectus. Related: Selected; selecting.

selector in Technology

programming
1. In Smalltalk or Objective C, the syntax of a message which selects a particular method in the target object.
2. An operation that returns the state of an object but does not alter that state. Selector functions or methods often have names which begin with "get" and corresponding modifier methods or procedures whose names begin with "set".
(1998-01-12)