Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To reach a conclusion or form a judgment or opinion about (something) by reasoning or consideration.
  • intransitive verb To cause to make or reach a decision.
  • intransitive verb To settle conclusively all contention or uncertainty about.
  • intransitive verb To influence or determine the outcome of.
  • intransitive verb To pronounce a judgment; announce a verdict.
  • intransitive verb To reach a decision; make up one's mind.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To cut off; separate.
  • To determine, as a question, controversy, or struggle, by some mode of arbitrament; settle by giving the victory to one side or the other; determine the issue or result of; adjust; conclude; end: as, the court decided the case in favor of the plaintiff; the umpire decided the contest; the fate of the bill is decided.
  • To resolve; determine in the mind: as, he decided to go.
  • To determine; form a definite opinion; come to a conclusion; pronounce a judgment: as, the court decided in favor of the defendant; to decide upon one's course.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To determine; to form a definite opinion; to come to a conclusion; to give decision.
  • transitive verb obsolete To cut off; to separate.
  • transitive verb To bring to a termination, as a question, controversy, struggle, by giving the victory to one side or party; to render judgment concerning; to determine; to settle.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To resolve (a contest, problem, dispute, etc.); to choose, determine, or settle.
  • verb intransitive To make a judgment, especially after deliberation.
  • verb transitive To cause someone to come to a decision.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb influence or determine
  • verb reach, make, or come to a decision about something
  • verb cause to decide
  • verb bring to an end; settle conclusively

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English deciden, from Old French decider, from Latin dēcīdere, to cut off, decide : dē-, de- + caedere, to cut; see kaə-id- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French décider or Latin dēcīdere, infintive of dēcīdō ("cut off, decide"), from  ("down from") + caedō ("cut").

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