Selectives

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Characterizing certain choices or preferences; involving careful consideration to distinguish specific items or categories; relating to processes that favor some elements over others in selection or assessment contexts
2. Pertaining to the act of making distinctions in choices or opinions; marked by an inclination to choose selectively among various options; associated with systematic approaches to filter or differentiate items or ideas
3. Involving selective choices that prioritize specific aspects or qualities; demonstrating a tendency to discern and prioritize some elements over others; referring to methods that are intentional in the selection process

Etymology: "Selective" comes from Latin "seligere," meaning to pick out, formed from "se-" (apart) and "legere" (to gather or choose). The same root gives English "select" and "elect." Since the Latin verb described choosing one thing from a crowd, the adjective came to mean discriminating among options. Applied to weed killers, the idea works at the level of plants. A nonselective herbicide kills nearly any green growth it touches, while a selective one is formulated to harm broadleaf weeds and leave grasses such as wheat or lawn turf largely unharmed. The plural noun "selectives" is how growers and suppliers name that class of products, so the word carries the sense of singling out the enemy rather than clearing the whole field.