chesen

Middle English

Alternative forms

chees, cheese, cheesen, chese, chesyn, cheose, cheys, chiese, chiesen, chyese, chose, chuse
cesen, cheosen (Early Middle English)

Etymology

From Old English ċēosan,^[1] from Proto-West Germanic *keusan, from Proto-Germanic *keusaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵews-.

The usual variant with /eː/ shows the regular development of the Old English diphthong, while the rarer variant with /oː/ (the source of the modern form) is from a variant pronunciation in which the stress was shifted to the diphthong's second element. Compare scheten, which has similar variation between /eː/ and /oː/ after a palatal consonant.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃeːzən/, (especially Northwest Midland) /ˈt͡ʃoːzən/^[2]

Verb

chesen

To choose; to select:
- 1387–1400, [Geoffrey] Chaucer, “The Somnours Tale”, in The Tales of Caunt́bury (Hengwrt Chaucer; Peniarth Manuscript 392D), Aberystwyth, Ceredigion: National Library of Wales, published [c. 1400–1410], →OCLC, folio 80, recto:
  Ẏıf vs a buſſhel whete / Malt oꝛ Reẏe / A goddes kechẏl / oꝛ a trẏp[e] of cheeſe / Oꝛ ellıs what ẏow lẏſt / we maẏ nat cheſe […]
  "Give us a bushel of wheat, malt, or rye, a God's cake, a bit of cheese / or anything that you want; we don't need to choose […]
1. To elect; to choose for an office.
2. To choose to do.
To prefer; to desire.
To pick up; to acquire:
1. To adopt (an orphan)
2. To pick out; to distinguish.
To travel; to go.

Usage notes

Weak forms of this verb are sometimes found in northern Middle English (compare Early Modern choosed).

Conjugation

Conjugation of *chesen* (strong class 2)
	present tense	past tense
infinitive	(to) chesen, chese

1st-person singular	chese	chees, chas
2nd-person singular	chesest	chose¹
3rd-person singular	cheseth	chees, chas
subjunctive singular	chese	chose²
imperative singular	chese	—

plural³	chesen, chese	chosen, chose
imperative plural	cheseth, chese	—

participles	chesynge, chesende	(y)chosen, (y)chose, (y)coren, (y)core, (y)corn

¹ Later replaced by the 1st-/3rd-person singular or cheesest, chasest.
² Later replaced by the indicative.
³ Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Descendants

English: choose
Middle Scots: ches, chese, chuis
- Scots: chuise, cheese

References

^ “chẹ̄sen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 5 September 2018.
^ McIntosh, Angus; Samuels, M[ichael] L.; Benskin, Michael (2013) [1986], Michael Benskin, Margaret Laing, editors, eLALME: A Linguistic Atlas of Late Medieval English‎^[1], Edinburgh: Angus McIntosh Centre for Historical Linguistics; revised November 2024.

[1] “chẹ̄sen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 5 September 2018.

[2] McIntosh, Angus; Samuels, M[ichael] L.; Benskin, Michael (2013) [1986], Michael Benskin, Margaret Laing, editors, eLALME: A Linguistic Atlas of Late Medieval English‎^[1], Edinburgh: Angus McIntosh Centre for Historical Linguistics; revised November 2024.

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