champeen
English edit
Etymology edit
A corruption of champion.
Noun edit
champeen (plural champeens)
- (nonstandard) A champion.
- 1912, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter 19, in The Prince and Betty:
- "He could whip a dozen Cyclone Dicks in the same evening with his eyes shut."
"He's the next champeen," admitted the first speaker.
- 1917, Jeffrey Farnol, chapter 24, in The Definite Object:
- "You're right, me lad, I was the best fightin' man, the greatest champeen as ever was."
- 1920, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 1, in The Big-Town Round-Up:
- "I'd take a li'l' bet that New York ain't lookin' for no champeen ropers or bronco-busters," said Stace.
- 1991 August 12, “Entertainment: Will Tyson Do The Encores?”, in Time:
- In this corner, the operatic heavyweight from Modena, Italy, Luciano Pavarotti! And in this corner, that Iberian emoter, champeen tenor Placido Domingo!
- 2005 July 24, Paul Oerjuerge, “Armstrong untouchable to the end”, in The Sun, San Bernardino, USA, retrieved 18 October 2010:
- So, there he goes, riding off into the golden sunset of history. Lance Armstrong, champeen of the cycling world.
Usage notes edit
- Originally used especially to refer to a champion in the sport of boxing, but since extended to other contexts.