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champion

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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See also: Champion and champión

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Etymology

    Etymology tree
    Proto-Italic *kampos
    Proto-West Germanic *kamp
    Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
    Proto-Germanic *-janą
    Proto-West Germanic *-jan
    Proto-West Germanic *kampijan
    Proto-Germanic *-jô
    Proto-West Germanic *-jō
    Frankish *kampijōbor.
    Medieval Latin campiō
    Old French champiunbor.
    Middle English champioun
    English champion

    From Middle English champioun, from Old French champion, from Medieval Latin campio (“combatant in a duel, champion”), from Frankish *kampijō (“fighter”), from Proto-West Germanic *kampijō (“combat soldier”), a derivative of Proto-West Germanic *kampijan (“to battle, to campaign”), itself a derivative of Proto-West Germanic *kamp (“battlefield, battle”), ultimately a borrowing in West-Germanic from Latin campus (“a field, a plain, a place of action”). By surface analysis champ +‎ -ion.

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    champion (plural champions)

    1. An ongoing winner in a game or contest.
      The defending champion is expected to defeat his challenger.
      • 2025 March 11, Matias Grez, “Steph Curry accepts assistant general manager role at alma mater Davidson College”, in CNN‎:
        Curry, a four-time NBA champion with the Warriors, played for the Wildcats for three seasons between 2006 and 2009, where he was twice named conference player of the year.
    2. Someone who is chosen to represent a group of people in a contest.
      Barcelona is eligible to play in FIFA Club World Cup as the champion of Europe.
    3. Someone who fights for a cause or status.
      Synonym: paladin
      Emmeline Pankhurst was a champion of women's suffrage.
      • 2012, Sue Watling, Jim Rogers, Social Work in a Digital Society, page 34:
        Specific outcomes from this policy included the appointment of a Digital Champion to drive forward the efforts to get more of the excluded to be included.
    4. Someone who fights on another's behalf.
      champion of the poor
    5. (botany) A particularly notable member of a plant species, such as one of great size.
      • 1938 November 5, Puritan Cordage Mills, “Take a Lesson from a Lily”, in Elmer C. Hole, editor, American Lumberman‎, volume 65, number 3138, Chicago, page 55:
        Pictured above is an actual photograph of a Regal Lily that famed all over the world. It's a champion plant—because in one season it produced a total of 89 blooms from one bulb, an amazing record among lilies.
      • 2013, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 1st edition, Milkweed Editions, →ISBN, →LCCN, pages 43–44:
        There was a news clipping there with a photo of a magnificent American elm, which had just been named the champion for its species, the largest of its kind.
      • 2022 February 10, Christopher Doyle, “Stockton professor, students discover largest 'champion tree' in New Jersey”, in The Press of Alantic City‎, archived from the original on 10 February 2022:
        He [Matthew Olson] was searching for red maple trees to be tapped for syrup as part of the Stockton Maple Project when he came across the new champion tree.

    Hyponyms

    Derived terms

    Descendants

    Translations

    Adjective

    champion (not comparable)

    1. (attributive) Acting as a champion; having defeated all one's competitors.
      a champion bodybuilder
    2. (attributive) Excellent; beyond compare.
    3. (predicative, Ireland, British, dialect) Excellent; brilliant; superb; deserving of high praise.
      "That rollercoaster was champion," laughed Vinny.

    Translations

    Verb

    champion (third-person singular simple present champions, present participle championing, simple past and past participle championed)

    1. (transitive) To promote, advocate, or act as a champion for (a cause, etc.).
      • 2024 April 3, Richard Foster, “Training the next generation of engineers”, in RAIL, number 1006, page 49:
        While obviously championing the Bluebell [Railway], Beardmore is keen for the 'big railway' to consider utilising what preserved railways can provide.
    2. (obsolete, transitive) To challenge.

    Derived terms

    Translations

    References

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    French

    Etymology

    Inherited from Old French champion, from Medieval Latin or Late Latin campiōnem, campiōnem (“champion, fighter”), from Frankish *kampijō, from Proto-Germanic *kampijô, based on Latin campus (“level ground”).

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    champion m (plural champions, feminine championne)

    1. champion

    Derived terms

    Descendants

    Further reading

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    Middle English

    Noun

    champion

    1. alternative form of champioun

    Old French

    Noun

    champion

    1. alternative form of champiun

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