cull

Cull (kl), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Culled (kld); p. pr.& Culling.]

Etymology: [OE., OF. cuillir, coillir, F.cueillir, to gather, pluck, pick, fr. L. colligere. See Coil, v. t., and cf. Collect.]

To separate, select, or pick out; to choose and gather or collect; as, to cuil flowers. From his herd he culls, For slaughter, from the fairest of his bulls. Dryden. Whitest honey in fairy gardens culled. Tennyson.

1 other Webster entry under this spelling

Cull, n.

A cully; a dupe; a gull. See Gully.

Shades of meaning

Fernald has no entry of its own for cull; he lists it under choose.

Where he writes about it:

Cull, from the Latin colligere, commonly means to collect, as well as to select. — from choose

In a garden we cull the choicest flowers. — from choose

Synonyms

choose elect pick pick out prefer select

Antonyms

cast away cast out decline disclaim dismiss leave refuse reject repudiate throw aside

etymology Webster’s online