■ verb
1》 legally take (another's child) and bring it up as one's own.
2》 choose to take up or follow (an option or course of action).
3》 assume (an attitude or position).
4》 Brit. choose as a candidate for office.
↘formally approve or accept.
5》 Brit. (of a local authority) accept responsibility for the maintenance of (a road).
Derivatives
~able adjective
~ee noun
~er noun
~ion noun
Origin
C15 (earlier (ME) as ~ion ): via Fr. from L. ~are , from ad- 'to' + optare 'choose'.