ETYM Latin selectio: cf. French sélection.
An assortment of things from which a choice can be made.
In Australia in the 1860s and 1870s, system by which people could choose crown land to live on and cultivate. Payment was by a credit time payment system. The land selected was also known as a selection and the people so choosing were known as selectors or free selectors. The system was a relative failure because the blocks of land were often too small for successful farming or environmentally unsuitable. It was also not successful in controlling the building up of large estates by squatters.

1. In applications, the highlighted portion of an on-screen document.
2. In communications, the initial contact made between a computer and a remote station receiving a message.
3. In programming, a conditional branch. See also conditional branch