Webster's Unabridged Dictionary - Letter S - Page 43
Selection (n.) The act of selecting, or the state of being selected; choice, by preference.
Selection (n.) That which is selected; a collection of things chosen; as, a choice selection of books.
Natural selection. (Biol.) See under Natural.
Selection (n.) The act of choosing or selecting; "your choice of colors was unfortunate"; "you can take your pick" [syn: choice, selection, option, pick].
Selection (n.) An assortment of things from which a choice can be made; "the store carried a large selection of shoes."
Selection (n.) The person or thing chosen or selected; "he was my pick for mayor" [syn: choice, pick, selection].
Selection (n.) A natural process resulting in the evolution of organisms best adapted to the environment [syn: survival, survival of the fittest, natural selection, selection].
Selection (n.) A passage selected from a larger work; "he presented excerpts from William James' philosophical writings" [syn: excerpt, excerption, extract, selection].
Selection (n.) (B2) [ C or U ] 選擇；挑選 The act of choosing someone or something.
// The selection process.
// Success is achieved by the careful selection of projects.
// The coach made her selection (= chose who she wanted) for the team.
Selection (n.) (B2) [ C ] 可供挑選的東西 A choice or range of different types of something.
// Most schools would have a good selection of these books in their libraries.
// The larger stores are able to stock a wider selection of goods.
Selection (n.) [ C ] 被選中的東西（或人）；入選者 A person or thing that has been or will be chosen.
// Their music was a mix of old stuff and selections from the new album.
Selective (a.) Selecting; tending to select.
This selective providence of the Almighty. -- Bp. Hall.
Selective (a.) Tending to select; characterized by careful choice; "an exceptionally quick and selective reader" -- John Mason Brown
Selective (a.) Characterized by very careful or fastidious selection; "the school was very selective in its admissions."
Selectively (adv.) By selection; in a selective manner; "we choose our students very selectively."
Selectmen (n. pl. ) of Selectman.
Selectman (n.) One of a board of town officers chosen annually in the New England States to transact the general public business of the town, and have a kind of executive authority. The number is usually from three to seven in each town.
The system of delegated town action was then, perhaps, the same which was defined in an "order made in 1635 by the inhabitants of Charlestown at a full meeting for the government of the town, by selectmen;" the name presently extended throughout New England to municipal governors. -- Palfrey.
Selectmen. () The name of certain officers in several of the United States, who are invested by the statutes of the several states with various powers.
Selectness (n.) The quality or state of being select.
Selector (n.) [L.] One who selects.
Selector (n.) A person who chooses or selects out [syn: picker, chooser, selector].
Selector (n.) A switch that is used to select among alternatives [syn: selector, selector switch].
Selector, () In Smalltalk or Objective C, the syntax of a message which selects a particular method in the target object.
Selector, () 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)
Selenate (n.) (Chem.) A salt of selenic acid; -- formerly called also seleniate.
Selenhydric (a.) (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or designating, hydrogen selenide, H2Se, regarded as an acid analogous to sulphydric acid.
Selenic (a.) (Chem.) Of or pertaining to selenium; derived from, or containing, selenium; specifically, designating those compounds in which the element has a higher valence as contrasted with selenious compounds.
Selenide (n.) (Chem.) A binary compound of selenium, or a compound regarded as binary; as, ethyl selenide.
Seleniferous (a.) Containing, or impregnated with, selenium; as, seleniferous pyrites.
Selenio- () (Chem.) A combining form (also used adjectively) denoting the presence of selenium or its compounds; as, selenio-phosphate, a phosphate having selenium in place of all, or a part, of the oxygen.
Selenious (a.) (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or containing, selenium; specifically, designating those compounds in which the element has a lower valence as contrasted with selenic compounds.
Compare: Gypsum
Gypsum (n.) (Min.) A mineral consisting of the hydrous sulphate of lime (calcium). When calcined, it forms plaster of Paris.
Selenite is a transparent, crystalline variety; alabaster, a fine, white, massive variety.
Selenite (n.) (Chem.) A salt of selenious acid.
Selenite (n.) (Min.) A variety of gypsum, occuring in transparent crystals or crystalline masses. Selenitic
Selenitic (a.) Alt. of Selenitical.
Selenitical (a.) (Min.) Of or pertaining to selenite; resembling or containing selenite.
Selenium
(n.)
(Chem.) A nonmetallic element of the sulphur group, and analogous to
sulphur in its compounds. It is found in small quantities with sulphur and some
sulphur ores, and obtained in the
Seleniuret (n.) (Chem.) A selenide. [Obs.]
Seleniureted (a.) (Chem.) Combined with selenium as in a selenide; as, seleniureted hydrogen. [Written also seleniuretted.] [Obsoles.]
Selenocentric (a.) (Astron.) As seen or estimated from the center of the moon; with the moon central.
Selenograph (n.) A picture or delineation of the moon's surface, or of any part of it.
Selenographer (n.) One skilled in selenography. -- Wright. Selenographic
Selenographic (a.) Alt. of Selenographical.
Selenographical (a.) Of or pertaining to selenography.
Selenographist (n.) A selenographer.
Selenography (n.) The science that treats of the physical features of the moon; -- corresponding to physical geography in respect to the earth. "Accurate selenography, or description of the moon." -- Sir T. Browne.
Selenonium (n.) (Chem.) A hypothetical radical of selenium, analogous to sulphonium. [R.]
Selenology (n.) That branch of astronomy which treats of the moon. -- Sel`e*no*log"i*cal, a.
Self (a.) Same; particular; very; identical. [Obs., except in the compound selfsame.] "On these self hills." -- Sir. W. Raleigh.
To shoot another arrow that self way Which you did shoot the first. -- Shak.
At that self moment enters Palamon. -- Dryden.
Self (a.) Having its own or a single nature or character, as in color, composition, etc., without addition or change; unmixed; as, a self bow, one made from a single piece of wood; self flower or plant, one which is wholly of one color; self-colored.
Selves (n. pl. ) of Self.
Self (n.) The individual as the object of his own reflective consciousness; the man viewed by his own cognition as the subject of all his mental phenomena, the agent in his own activities, the subject of his own feelings, and the possessor of capacities and character; a person as a distinct individual; a being regarded as having personality. "Those who liked their real selves." -- Addison.
A man's self may be the worst fellow to converse with in the world. -- Pope.
The self, the I, is recognized in every act of intelligence as the subject to which that act belongs. It is I that perceive, I that imagine, I that remember, I that attend, I that compare, I that feel, I that will, I that am conscious. -- Sir W. Hamilton.
Self (n.) Hence, personal interest, or love of private interest; selfishness; as, self is his whole aim.
Self (n.) Personification; embodiment. [Poetic.]
She was beauty's self. -- Thomson.
Note: Self is united to certain personal pronouns and pronominal adjectives to express emphasis or distinction. Thus, for emphasis; I myself will write; I will examine for myself; thou thyself shalt go; thou shalt see for thyself; you yourself shall write; you shall see for yourself; he himself shall write; he shall examine for himself; she herself shall write; she shall examine for herself; the child itself shall be carried; it shall be present itself. It is also used reflexively; as, I abhor myself; thou enriches thyself; he loves himself; she admires herself; it pleases itself; we walue ourselves; ye hurry yourselves; they see themselves. Himself, herself, themselves, are used in the nominative case, as well as in the objective. "Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples." -- John iv. 2.
Note: self is used in the formation of innumerable compounds, usually of obvious signification, in most of which it denotes either the agent or the object of the action expressed by the word with which it is joined, or the person in behalf of whom it is performed, or the person or thing to, for, or towards whom or which a quality, attribute, or feeling expressed by the following word belongs, is directed, or is exerted, or from which it proceeds; or it denotes the subject of, or object affected by, such action, quality, attribute, feeling, or the like; as, self-abandoning, self-abnegation, self-abhorring, self-absorbed, self-accusing, self-adjusting, self-balanced, self-boasting, self-canceled, self-combating, self-commendation, self-condemned, self-conflict, self-conquest, self-constituted, self-consumed, self-contempt, self-controlled, self-deceiving, self-denying, self-destroyed, self-disclosure, self-display, self-dominion, self-doomed, self-elected, self-evolved, self-exalting, self-excusing, self-exile, self-fed, self-fulfillment, self-governed, self-harming, self-helpless, self-humiliation, self-idolized, self-inflicted, self-improvement, self-instruction, self-invited, self-judging, self-justification, self-loathing, self-loving, self-maintenance, self-mastered, self-nourishment, self-perfect, self-perpetuation, self-pleasing, self-praising, self-preserving, self-questioned, self-relying, self-restraining, self-revelation, self-ruined, self-satisfaction, self-support, self-sustained, self-sustaining, self-tormenting, self-troubling, self-trust, self-tuition, self-upbraiding, self-valuing, self-worshiping, and many others.
Self-abased (a.) Humbled by consciousness of inferiority, unworthiness, guilt, or shame.
Self-abasement (n.) Degradation of one's self by one's own act.
Self-abasement (n.) Humiliation or abasement proceeding from consciousness of inferiority, guilt, or shame.
Self-abasing (a.) Lowering or humbling one's self.
Self-abhorrence (n.) Abhorrence of one's self.
Self-abnegation (n.) Self-denial; self-renunciation; self-sacrifice.
Self-abuse (n.) The abuse of one's own self, powers, or faculties.
Self-abuse (n.) Self-deception; delusion. [Obs.] -- Shak.
Self-abuse (n.) Masturbation; onanism; self-pollution.
Self-accused (a.) Accused by one's self or by one's conscience. "Die self-accused." -- Cowper.
Self-acting (a.) Acting of or by one's self or by itself; -- said especially of a machine or mechanism which is made to perform of or for itself what is usually done by human agency; automatic; as, a self-acting feed apparatus; a self-acting mule; a self-acting press.
Self-action (n.) Action by, or originating in, one's self or itself.
Self-active (a.) Acting of one's self or of itself; acting without depending on other agents.
Self-activity (n.) The quality or state of being self-active; self-action.
Self-adjusting (a.) (Mach.) Capable of assuming a desired position or condition with relation to other parts, under varying circumstances, without requiring to be adjusted by hand; -- said of a piece in machinery.
Self-adjusting bearing (Shafting), A bearing which is supported in such a manner that it may tip to accommodate flexure or displacement of the shaft.
Self-admiration (n.) Admiration of one's self.
Self-affairs (n. pl.) One's own affairs; one's private business. [Obs.] -- Shak.
Self-affrighted (a.) Frightened at or by one's self. -- Shak.
Self-aggrandizement (n.) The aggrandizement of one's self.
Self-annihilated (a.) Annihilated by one's self.
Self-annihilation (n.) Annihilation by one's own acts; annihilation of one's desires. -- Addison.
Self-annihilation (n.) The act of killing yourself; "it is a crime to commit suicide" [syn: suicide, self-destruction, self-annihilation].
Self-applause (n.) Applause of one's self.
Self-applying (a.) Applying to or by one's self.
Self-approving (a.) Approving one's own action or character by one's own judgment.
One self-approving hour whole years outweighs Of stupid starers and of loud huzzas. -- Pope.
Self-asserting (a.) Asserting one's self, or one's own rights or claims; hence, putting one's self forward in a confident or assuming manner.
Self-asserting (a.) Aggressively self-assured; "an energetic assertive boy who was always ready to argue"; "pointing directly at a listener is an assertive act" [syn: assertive, self-asserting, self-assertive] [ant: unassertive].
Self-assertion (n.) The act of asserting one's self, or one's own rights or claims; the quality of being self-asserting.
Self-assertion (n.) The act of putting forth your own opinions in a boastful or inconsiderate manner that implies you feel superior to others.
Self-assertion (n.) The act of asserting yourself in an aggressive manner.
Self-assertive (a.) Disposed to self-assertion; self-asserting.
Self-assertive (a.) Aggressively self-assured; "an energetic assertive boy who was always ready to argue"; "pointing directly at a listener is an assertive act" [syn: assertive, self-asserting, self-assertive] [ant: unassertive].
Self-assertive (a.) Offensively self-assertive [syn: bumptious, self-assertive].
Self-assumed (a.) Assumed by one's own act, or without authority.
Self-assured (a.) Assured by or of one's self; self-reliant; complacent.
Self-assured (a.) Showing poise and confidence in your own worth; "hardly more than a boy but firm-knit and self-confident" [syn: self-assured, self-confident].
Self-banished (a.) Exiled voluntarily.
Self-begotten (a.) Begotten by one's self, or one's own powers.
Self-born (a.) Born or produced by one's self.
Self-centered (a.) Alt. of Self-centred.
Self-centred (a.) Centered in itself, or in one's self.
There hangs the ball of earth and water mixt, Self-centered and unmoved. -- Dryden.
Self-centred (a.) Interested solely or primiarily in oneself, or one's own welfare; disinclined to consider the interests of others; selfish; egotistical. Self-centering
Self-centered (a.) limited to or caring only about yourself and your own needs [syn: egoistic, egoistical, egocentric, self-centered, self-centred] [ant: altruistic, selfless].
Self-centeredness (n.) Concern for your own interests and welfare [syn: egoism, egocentrism, self-interest, self-concern, self-centeredness] [ant: altruism, selflessness].
Self-centering (a.) Alt. of Self-centring.
Self-centring (a.) Centering in one's self.
Self-centration (n.) The quality or state of being self-centered.
Self-charity (n.) Self-love. [Obs.] -- Shak.
Self-color (n.) A color not mixed or variegated.
Self-colored (a.) Being of a single color; -- applied to flowers, animals, and textile fabrics.
Self-colored (a.) Of the same color throughout; "solid color" [syn: solid, self-colored, self-coloured].
Self-command (n.) Control over one's own feelings, temper, etc.; self-control.
Self-command (n.) The trait of resolutely controlling your own behavior [syn: self-control, self-possession, possession, willpower, will power, self-command, self-will]
Self-commune (n.) Self-communion. [R.]
Self-communicative (a.) Imparting or communicating by its own powers.
Self-communion (n.) Communion with one's self; thoughts about one's self.
Self-complacency (n.) The quality of being self-complacent. -- J. Foster.
Self-complacent (a.) Satisfied with one's own character, capacity, and doings; self-satisfied.
Self-conceit (n.) Conceit of one's self; an overweening opinion of one's powers or endowments.
Syn: See Egotism.
Self-conceited (a.) Having an overweening opinion of one's own powers, attainments; vain; conceited. -- Self`-con*ceit"ed*ness, n.
Self-concern (n.) Concern for one's self.
Self-condemnation (n.) Condemnation of one's self by one's own judgment.
Self-confidence (n.) The quality or state of being self-confident; self-reliance.
A feeling of self-confidence which supported and sustained him. -- Beaconsfield.
Self-confident (a.) Confident of one's own strength or powers; relying on one's judgment or ability; self-reliant. -- Self`-con"fi*dent*ly, adv.
Self-conjugate (a.) (Geom.) Having the two things that are conjugate parts of the same figure; as, self-conjugate triangles.
Self-conscious (a.) Conscious of one's acts or state as belonging to, or originating in, one's self. "My self-conscious worth." -- Dryden.
Self-conscious (a.) Conscious of one's self as an object of the observation of others; as, the speaker was too self-conscious.
Self-consciousness (n.) The quality or state of being self-conscious.
Self-considering (a.) Considering in one's own mind; deliberating. -- Pope.
Self-consistency (n.) The quality or state of being self-consistent.
Self-consistent (a.) Consistent with one's self or with itself; not deviation from the ordinary standard by which the conduct is guided; logically consistent throughout; having each part consistent with the rest.
Self-consuming (a.) Consuming one's self or itself.
Self-contained (a.) Having self-control; reserved; uncommunicative; wholly engrossed in one's self.
Self-contained (a.) (Mach.) Having all the essential working parts connected by a bedplate or framework, or contained in a case, etc., so that mutual relations of the parts do not depend upon fastening outside of the machine itself.
Self-contained steam engine. (a) A steam engine having both bearings for the crank shaft attached to the frame of the engine.
Self-contained steam engine. (b) A steam engine and boiler combined and fastened together; a portable steam engine.
Self-contained (a.) Constituting a complete and independent unit in and of itself; "the university is like a self-contained city with shops and all amenities."
Self-contained (a.) In full control of your faculties; "the witness remained collected throughout the cross-examination"; "perfectly poised and sure of himself"; "more self-contained and more dependable than many of the early frontiersmen"; "strong and self-possessed in the face of trouble" [syn: collected, equanimous, poised, self-collected, self-contained, self-possessed].
Self-contradiction (n.) The act of contradicting one's self or itself; repugnancy in conceptions or in terms; a proposition consisting of two members, one of which contradicts the other; as, to be and not to be at the same time is a self-contradiction.
Self-contradiction (n.) Contradicting yourself.
Self-contradictory (a.) Contradicting one's self or itself.
Self-contradictory (a.) Seemingly contradictory but nonetheless possibly true; "it is paradoxical that standing is more tiring than walking" [syn: paradoxical, self-contradictory].
Self-contradictory (a.) In disagreement; "the figures are at odds with our findings"; "contradictory attributes of unjust justice and loving vindictiveness" -- John Morley [syn: at odds(p), conflicting, contradictory, self-contradictory].
Self-control (n.) Control of one's self; restraint exercised over one's self; self-command.
Self-control (n.) The act of denying yourself; controlling your impulses [syn: self-denial, self-discipline, self-control].
Self-control (n.) The trait of resolutely controlling your own behavior [syn: self-control, self-possession, possession, willpower, will power, self-command, self-will].