Wiktionary

champion

See also: Champion and champión

English

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Etymology

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    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”).

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    champion (plural champions)

    1. An ongoing winner in a game or contest.
      The defending champion is expected to defeat his challenger.
    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[1], 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[2], archived from the original on 2022-02-10:
        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

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    Derived terms

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    Descendants

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    Translations

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    Adjective

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    champion (not comparable)

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

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    Verb

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    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

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    Translations

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    References

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    French

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    Etymology

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    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

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    Noun

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    champion m (plural champions, feminine championne)

    1. champion

    Derived terms

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    Descendants

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    Further reading

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    Middle English

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    Noun

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    champion

    1. Alternative form of champioun

    Old French

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    Noun

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    champion

    1. Alternative form of champiun
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