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Exerting the power of choice; selecting; as, an elective act.

The eleven men selected to play on one side in a match, as the representatives of a club or a locality; as, the all-England eleven.

That may be selected; proper or qualified to be chosen; legally qualified to be elected and to hold office.

A choice or select body; the flower; as, the élite of society.

The act of adorning, or the state of being adorned; adornment. In the selection of their ground, as well as in the embellishment of it. Prescott.

A selection of passages from the Gospels, as a lesson in divine service. Porson.

That which is to be avoided; one selected for punishment and to serve as a warning; a warning. Hang him; he'll be made an example. Shak. Now these things were our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 1 Cor. x. 6.

To select; to extract; to cite; to quote. Out of which we have excerpted the following particulars. Fuller.

The act of excerpting or selecting. [R.]

That excerpts, selects, or chooses. D. L. Mackenzie.

exclude others; one who from real of affected fastidiousness limits his acquaintance to a select few.

Select; choice; hence, extraordinary, excellent. [Obs.] The eximious and arcane science of physic. Fuller.

Carefully selected or sought out; hence, of distinguishing and surpassing quality; exceedingly nice; delightfully excellent; giving rare satisfaction; as, exquisite workmanship. Plate of rare device, and jewels Of reach and exquisite form. Shak. I have no exquisite reason for 't, but I have reason good enough. Shak.…

To take by selection; to choose out; to cite or quote, as a passage from a book. I have extracted out of that pamphlet a few notorious falsehoods. Swift. To extract the root (Math.), to ascertain the root of a number or quantity.

us used in fishing, as hook, line, rod, etc. -- Fishing tube (Micros.), a glass tube for selecting a microscopic object in a fluid.

Infantry soldiers belonging to select regiments called the Guards. [Eng.]

for provisions, etc. He [the lion] from forage will incline to play. Shak. One way a band select from forage drives A herd of beeves, fair oxen and fair kine. Milton. Mawhood completed his forage unmolested. Marshall.

r-, and Heap.] (Mil.), a body of men (called in F. enfants perdus, in G. verloren posten) selected, usually from volunteers, to attempt a breach, scale the wall of a fortress, or perform other extraordinarily perilous service; also, a desperate case or enterprise.

Casual choice; fortuitous selection; hazard. [R.] No mode of election operating in the spirit of fortition or rotation can be generally good. Burke.

A selection from one of the gospels, for use in a religious service; as, the gospel for the day.