Chondrostoma 
mouth.] The typical genus of Chondroxtomintc, 
containing Eiirasiatic cyprinoids with a homy 
or gristly sheath of the lips, whence the name. 
Chondrostomi (kon-dros'to-mi), ii. pi. [NL., 
as ChoiiilroHtoma.] Same as Chondrostomiiue. 
Chondrostominae (kon-dros-to-mi'ne), w. pi. 
[NL., < Cliondrostoina + -ime.~\ ' In Jordan's sys- 
tem of classification, a subfamily of cyprinoid 
fishes, with the air-bladder next to the roof of 
the abdominal cavity, the dorsal fin short and 
spineless, and the pharyngeal teeth uniserial. 
It embraces a number of American genera, only one of 
which, Acrochilus, is closely related to the typical Euro- 
pean species of the subfamily. 
chondrostomlne (kon-dros'to-min), a. and . 
1. a. Pertaining to or having the characters of 
the Chondrostomine. 
II. >. A fish of the subfamily Chondrosto- 
inin<f. 
chondrotome (kon'dro-tom), n. [< Gr. xovipoc, 
cartilage, + rowof, verbal adj. of Tffivetv, cut : see 
anatomy.] In surg., a knife specially adapted 
for cutting cartilages. It is a stout, strong kind of 
scalpel, with the blade and file-like handle usually of steel 
and in one piece. Also called cartilage-knife. 
chondrotomy (kon-drot'o-mi), n. [= F. chon- 
drotomie = Sp. condrotomia, < Gr. x&vfipos, car- 
tilage, + TOftf, a cutting: see anatomy.'] 1. In 
surg., the cutting of a cartilage. 2. In anat., 
a dissection of cartilages. 
chondrule (kon'drol), n. [< NL. *chondrulus, 
dim. of chondrus, cartilage: see chondrus.] 
A term proposed as an English equivalent of 
chondrus, 1. 
chondrus (kon'drus), n. ; pi. chondri (-dri). 
[NL., < Gr. ;r<ii><i|00f, groats, grain, lump, carti- 
lage, gristle.] 1. A rounded mass, or spherule, 
consisting of a single crystal of some mineral, 
or of an aggregate of several crystalline frag- 
ments of different minerals, often more or less 
mingled with a glassy base. Such forms are found 
in various meteorites, sometimes constituting nearly the 
whole of the mass, sometimes only a small portion of it. 
This peculiar structure is designated as chondritic, and 
each individual spherule as a chondrus. Such chondri 
are usually smaller than a pea. They are generally con- 
sidered to be drops of matter solidified from a molten 
condition. 
2. A cartilage, particularly the ensiform carti- 
lage. Also spelled cJiondros. 3. [cap.] Infect., 
a genus of seaweeds, including the Chondrus 
crispus (Irish moss or carrageen), which fur- 
nishes a nutritious gelatinous matter. 4. 
[cap.] In zool., a genus of pupiform gastro- 
pods. Citvier, 1817. 
chone (kon), n. [NL., < Gr. xavj;, contr. of x- 
avri, a funnel : see clioana.] The cortical dome 
of a sponge. See extract. 
In many sponges the cortical domes are constricted near 
their communication with the subdermal cavity by a trans- 
verse muscular sphincter, which defines an outer division 
or ectochone from an inner or endochone, the whole struc- 
ture being a chone. Encyc. Brit., XXII. 415. 
chonerhinid (kon-e-rin'id), n. A fish of the 
family Chonerhinidce. 
Clionerhinidae (kon-e-rin'i-de), n. pi. [NL., < 
Choncrhinus + -idw.] In Gill's system of clas- 
sification, a family of gymnodont plectognath 
fishes, with the frontals separated from the su- 
pra-occipital by the intervention of the post- 
frontals, which are much enlarged and assume 
a quadrangular form. The ethmoid is little promi- 
nent to view and very short ; the vertebrae are in increased 
number (12 abdominal and 17 caudal) ; the head is wide 
or has a blunt, wide snout ; and the dorsal and anal fins 
are long and multiradiate. The few species are peculiar 
to tile rivers of southern Asia. 
Chonerhinus (kon-e-ri'nus), n. [NL. (Bleeker, 
1865), irreg. < Gr. xhvij, contr. of ^odv^, a fun- 
nel, + pif, }>iv, nose.] The typical genus of the 
family Chonerhinidce. 
choochkie (choch'ki), n. [Alaskan.] The na- 
tive name in Alaska of the least or knob-billed 
auklet, Simorhynchus pusilhts. H. W. Elliott. 
choor (chb'r), n. A dialectal variant of chore 1 , 
ohar 1 . 
choory (cho'ri), v. i. ; pret. and pp. chooried, 
ppr. choorying. [< choor, n.] To work ; char. 
Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 
Choosable (cho'za-bl), a. [< choose + -able.] 
Capable of being or proper to be chosen ; hav- 
ing desirable qualities ; desirable. 
choosableness (cho'za-bl-nes), n. The quality 
of being choosable. [Rare.] 
The true source of the nobleness and chooseableness of all 
things. Ruikin, Modern Painters, IV. xvii. 8. 
choose (choz), v. ; pret. chose,, pp. chosen (chose 
now obsolete or vulgar), ppr. choosing. [Un- 
til recently often chuse; < ME. cheosen, chesen, 
occasionally chusen (pret. cheas, ches, chees, pi. 
clmren, chosen, pp. coren, chosen), < AS. ceosan, 
978 
(pret. ceds, pi. citron, pp. coren) = OS. kiosan 
= OFries. kitisa = D. kiezen = OHG. chiosan, 
MHG. G. kiescn = Icel. kjosa = Sw. kdra (in 
comp. ut-kara, elect) = Dan. kaare = Goth. 
IciiiMin, choose, also prove, test (> kausjan, 
prove, test), = L. gustare, taste (> gust 2 ), = 
Gr. yeuetv for *yevasn>, taste, = Skt. -y/ jiixh. 
relish, enjoy. Hence cost 1 , and, through F., 
choice, q. v.] I. trans. 1. To select from two 
or more ; make a choice of in preference to an- 
other or others, or to something else. 
The kerver at the boarde, after the King is passed it, 
may chese for hymself one dyshe or two, that plentie is 
among. Babeei Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 325, note. 
Mv soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than life. 
Job vii. ir.. 
Choose not alone a proper mate, 
But proper time to marry. 
Cowper, Pairing Time Anticipated. 
2. To prefer and decide : with an infinitive as 
object : as, he chose to make the attack. 
Because he ches in that Lond, rathere than in onyothere, 
there to suffre his Passioun and his Dethe. 
Mandeville, Travels, p. 2. 
Every age is as good as the people who live in it choose 
to make it. Lowell, New Princeton Rev., I. 157. 
3. To prefer to have; be inclined or have a 
preference for. 
The landlady now returned to know if we did not choose 
a more genteel apartment. Goldsmith. 
= Syn. 1. Choose, Prefer, Elect, Select, fix upon, pitch up- 
on, adopt. Choose is the most general of these words, but 
always represents an act of the will ; it is the taking of one 
or some where all are not wanted or cannot be had. Choice 
may be founded upon preference or modified by necessity. 
Prefer represents a verdict of the judgment or a state of 
the'inclination ; it emphasizes more than does choose the 
leaving of the rest : he who prefers apples to oranges will 
choose apples when he has the opportunity of choice ; one 
may by inclination prefer to work at night, but, on grounds 
of health, choose to work only by day. Elect has an exact 
use in theology ; its principal use otherwise is to express 
the choice of persons by ballot or otherwise, for office, 
membership in societies, etc. : as, to be elected alderman 
or treasurer; to elect certain studies in a college is to 
choose them formally. Select represents a careful, dis- 
criminating choice. 
He called unto him his disciples, and of them he chose 
twelve. Luke vi. 13. 
But wild ambition loves to slide, not stand, 
And fortune's ice prefers to virtue's land. 
Dryden, Abs. and Achit., i. 198. 
We have with special soul 
Elected him our absence to supply. 
Shak., M. for M., i. 1. 
We are as much informed of a writer's genius by what 
he selects as by what he originates. 
Emerson, Quotation and Originality. 
II. intrans. 1. To elect; make a choice ; de- 
cide. 
Boyet. And who is your deer? 
Jtos. If we choose by the horns, yourself. 
Shak., L. L. L., iv. 1. 
They had only to choose between implicit obedience and 
open rebellion. Prescott. 
2. To prefer; desire; wish. 3f. To have one's 
choice ; do as one pleases. 
An you will not have me, choose. Shale., M. of V., i. 2. 
Boy. They will trust you for no more drink. 
Her. Will they not? let 'em choose. 
Beau, and Ft., Knight of Burning Pestle, iv. 5. 
4f. To direct one's steps ; choose one's way. 
He ful chauncely hatj chosen to the chef gate, 
That brojt bremly the burne to the bryge ende. 
Sir Gawayne and the. Green Kniyht (E. E. T. S.), 1. 778. 
Towardez Chartris they chese these cheualrous knyghttez. 
Morte Arthure (E. E. T. S.), 1. 1619. 
Cannot Choose but, cannot do otherwise than. See can- 
not hut, under butl, conj. 
I cannot choose but weep, to think they should lay him 
i' the cold ground. Shak., Hamlet, iv. 6. 
chooser (cho'zer), . [< choose + -er 1 . Of. ME. 
chesere, with fern, cheseresse, < chesen, choose.] 
One who chooses; one who has the power or 
right of choosing. 
So far forth as herself might be her chooser. 
Shak., M. W. of W., iv. 6. 
We cannot be 
choosers, sir, in our own destiny. 
Middleton (and others), The Widow, v. 1. 
Should the worm be chooser > the clay withstand 
The shaping will of the potter's hand ? 
Whittier, The Preacher. 
choosingly (cho'zing-li), adv. [< choosing, ppr. 
of choose, r., + -fy 2 .] By choosing; by choice 
or preference. [Bare.] 
That I may do all thy will cheerfully, choosingly, hum- 
bly, confidently, and continually. 
Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), I. 63. 
choosing-stick (cho'zing-stik), n. A divining- 
rod. [Prov. Eng.] 
chop 1 (chop), )'. ; pret. and pp. chopped, ppr. 
chopping. [Orig. identical with chap 1 , which 
is now partly differentiated in use, though dial. 
(Sc.) like chop in all senses (see chap 1 ); (1) 
< ME. choppen, chappen, chop, cut, strike, chap 
chop 
(not found in AS.), = MD. koppen, cut off (the 
head or top of), lop, poll, amputate, kappen, 
1). kappen (>G. happen), chop, cut, hew, mince, 
lop, poll, = MLG. koppen (> G. koppen), lop, 
poll, = Dan. kappe, cut, poll, = Sw. kappa, 
cut ; appar. an orig. verb, meaning ' chop, out 
with a sudden blow,' mixed in form and senses 
with several verbs of other origin : (2) MD. 
koppen (= MLG. koppen = G. kdpfen), poll, 
lop, < kop (= G. kopf = E. cop), head, top 
(see cop 1 ) ; (3) MD. D. MLG. koppen = E. cup, 
bleed (see cup) ; (4) MD. kappen (= G. kap- 
pen), poll (cf. G. kiippen, cap, hood), < kap 
= G. kappe = E. cap (see cap 1 ) ; (5) ML. cap- 
pare, coppare, copare, eoupare, cut, poll, partly 
from the above, but partly a reflex of OF. cou- 
per (> ME. coiipen, caupen), cut, strike: see 
coup 1 , caup 3 . Prob. not connected with Goth. 
kaupatjan, strike, slap, or, as supposed (through 
an assumed root *skap), with Gr. utm-rtiv, cut, 
Kdnuv, a capon (see capon), and OBulg. skopiti 
= Buss, skopiti = Serv. shkopiti = Pol. skopic, 
castrate, > OBulg. skopitsi = Buss, skopetsu = 
Serv. shkopats, a eunuch, = Pol. Bohem. shop 
(> G. schops), a gelded ram, a mutton. Hence 
chip 1 , q. v.] I. trans. 1. To cut with a quick 
blow of a sharp instrument, as an ax; sever 
with a sudden stroke, or a succession of such 
strokes; cut in pieces by repeated strokes; 
fell; hew; hack; mince: as, to chop off a limb; 
to chop down a tree; to chop wood or straw; 
to chop meat. 
Mony chivalrous Achilles choppit to dethe : 
All his wedis were wete of thaire wan blode ! 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 6999. 
Chop off his head ; something we will determine. 
Shak., Rich. III., iii. 1. 
2f. To snap up ; gobble. 
You are for making a hasty meal and for chopping up 
your entertainment like an hungry clown. Dryden. 
3. To flog. [Prov. Eng.] 4. To put in. 
[Prov. Eng.] 5. To cause to cleave, split, 
crack, or open longitudinally, as the surface of 
the earth, or the skin and flesh of the hand or 
face: in this sense more commonly written 
chap. See chap 1 , v., I., 1 To chop a fox (see 2, 
above), in fox-hunting, to seize him before he has had 
time to escape from cover : said of a hound. To chop 
up, to cut in or into pieces. = Syn. Split, Cleave, etc. See 
rend. 
II. intrans. 1. To use a cutting instrument, 
as a cleaver or an ax, with a heavy stroke : as, 
to spend the day in chopping. 2f. To strike 
(at) ; catch (at) ; do something with a sudden, 
unexpected motion, like that of a blow. Bacon. 
He chops at the shadow and loses the substance. 
Sir J?. L' Estrange. 
3f. To cut in; come in suddenly in interrup- 
tion. 
Some scornful jest or other chops between me 
And my desire. Fletcher, Wildgoose Chase, i. 2. 
4. To utter words suddenly ; interrupt by re- 
marking: with in or out: as, he chopped in with 
a question. See phrases below. 5. To crack; 
open in long slits: in this sense more com- 
monly written chap. See chap 1 , v., II., 1 TO 
chop In, to thrust in suddenly ; interrupt. 
You're running greedily, like a hound to his breakfast, 
That chops in head and all, to beguile his fellows. 
Beau, and Fl., Wit at several Weapons, iv. 2. 
This covetous fellow would not tarry till all the sermon 
was done, but interrupted the sermon, even suddenly chop, 
ping in. Latimer, 2d Sermon bef. Edw. VI., 1550. 
To Chop In with, to cut in with (some remark) ; inter- 
rupt with. To Chop out with to give vent or expres- 
sion to suddenly ; bring out suddenly ; whip out. 
Thou wilt chop out with them unseasonably, 
When I desire 'em not. 
Beau, and Fl., Maid's Tragedy, iv. 2. 
chop 1 (chop), n. [< ME. chop, a stroke, blow; 
from the verb.] 1 . A cutting or severing blow ; 
a stroke, especially with some sharp instru- 
ment. 
Than Achilles with a chop chaunset to sle 
Philles, a fre kyng, with his fyn strenght. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 7701. 
2. A slice of mutton, lamb, or pork, usually cut 
from the loin, and containing the rib. Long 
chops are cut through loin and flank. Rolled chops are cut 
from the flank, without bone. See mutton-chop. 
And hence this halo lives about 
The waiter's hands, that reach 
To each his perfect pint of stout, 
His proper chop to each. 
Tennyson, Will Waterproof. 
3. Figuratively, an extortion; a forced pay- 
ment. [Rare.] 
Sir William Capel compounded for sixteen hundred 
pounds, yet Empson would have cut another chop out of 
him if the king had not died. Bacon. 
4. In milling, the product of the first crushing 
or breaking of the wheat in making flour by the 
