The word **首选** (shǒu xuǎn) is a modern Chinese compound formed through a straightforward semantic combination of its two constituent characters: **首** (shǒu), meaning "head," "first," or "foremost," and **选** (xuǎn), meaning "to choose" or "choice." It follows a common modifier-head grammatical structure in Chinese, where the first element **首** modifies the second element **选**. Thus, the compound literally translates to "first-choice," denoting the primary, top-priority, or most preferred option among a set of selections.