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No, that's the point, I don't want to specify the actual type of element used, because that's up to others to design, while considering user experience, accessibility, etc.
'a form element [or set of elements] from which user can select exactly one item'could be implemented as a drop-down select, a row of radio buttons, or some other kind of widget.
I only want to specify the basic, functional behaviour which is a means by which the user can specify n items from a set x. (Not a list, because that implies the items are ordered, and if and how they may be ordered is another thing for other people to cover)
Maybe radio buttons vs checkboxes?