Etymologically
Log in

champion

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 21:12. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈtʃæm.pi.ən/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English champiun, champioun,[2][3] borrowed from Old French champion (“combatant, champion in single combat”), 12th century,[4][2] from Medieval Latin campiō (“gladiator, fighter, combatant in the field”) (accusative campiōnem),[4][2][5] from Latin campus (“field, place of combat”).[4][2][6] Merriam-Webster takes the Medieval Latin word as of West Germanic origin, akin to Old English cempa “warrior”;[3] Etymonline says Old English had borrowed the Latin word earlier as cempa.[4] It is related to camp, campus and campaign.[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A fighting man, a combatant: probably before 1200 in the Ancrene Riwle according to Barnhart,[2] before 1225 in the OED[7] and the early 13th century in Etymonline.[4]

Semantic evolution

“One who fights on behalf of another, or of a cause” is from about 1300,[4] 1292 in the OED,[7] including the knight who fought in trial by battle for another.[7] Originally both the challenger and the defending fighter were champions.[6] The sporting sense, the person who holds first place after a public contest, is from 1730,[4][2][7] and the prize-winning animal or plant from 1717.[7] The verb first meant “to challenge”, in Shakespeare's Macbeth (1605);[2][7] “to fight for, defend” is from 1820, in Scott,[4][7] and the figurative “to advocate, support” from 1830 or 1844.[4][2][7] Championship is from 1825.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1200 – a fighting man.[2][4]
  • 1292 – one who fights for another.[7]
  • 1605 – verb, to challenge.[2][7]
  • 1717 – a prize-winning animal.[7]
  • 1730 – a sporting champion.[4][2]
  • 1820 – verb, to defend.[4][7]
  • 1825 – championship.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person, team or animal that wins first place in a competition.
  2. One who is clearly superior, with the qualities of a winner.
  3. An ardent defender or supporter of a cause or person.
  4. (archaic) A fighter; a warrior, especially one who fought for another.

Verb

  1. To fight for, defend or support: championed the rights of tenants.
  2. (archaic) To defy or challenge.

Adjective

  1. Holding first place: a champion swimmer.

Word family

  • championless
  • championlike
  • nonchampion

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  6. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press