Etymograph

English

choicely

Choicely comes from Old French chois ‘choice (decision)’, and goes back to choisir ‘to choose’.

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400choisir1‘to choose’
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400chois1‘choice (decision)’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500chois2‘choice, fine, select’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500choisly3
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1591choicely3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Middle English chois
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Middle English choisly
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English choicely
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “a band of men collected choicely, from each county…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400choisirWiktionary, Middle English chois‘to choose’
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400choisWiktionary, Middle English chois‘choice (decision)’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500choisWiktionary, Middle English choisly‘choice, fine, select’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500choislyWiktionary, English choicely
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1591choicelyWiktionary, English choicely. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “a band of men collected choicely, from each county…”

Linked words

through Middle English chois ‘choice, fine, select’

choose, 1 more

Today it means

adv Taking care in choosing; with attention to preference.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “choicely”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Middle English chois, Middle English choisly. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Old French choisir / choicely

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