"the elect, the select," especially those selected by God, c. 1200, from past participle of choose (v.). Chosen people for "the Jews" is recorded from 1530s.
Entries linking to chosen
choose v.
Old English ceosan "choose, seek out, select from two or more; decide, test, taste, try; accept, approve" (class II strong verb; past tense ceas, past participle coren), from Proto-Germanic *keus- (source also of Old Frisian kiasa, Old Saxon kiosan, Dutch kiezen, Old High German kiosan, German kiesen, Old Norse kjosa, Gothic kiusan "choose," Gothic kausjan "to taste, test"), from PIE root *geus- "to taste; to choose." Only remotely related to choice. Variant spelling chuse is Middle English, very frequent 16c.-18c. The irregular past participle leveled out to chosen by 1200.