championship

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈtʃæm.pi.ən.ʃɪp/^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English champion + -ship.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The position of a champion: 1812 in Etymonline;^[2] the position of champion or winner in a contest from 1825 in the OED and MWU.^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

The OED also records the older sense of acting as someone's champion, defending or supporting a person or cause, from 1840;^[3] it survives as the championship of a cause.^[5][6] A competition held to decide a champion, now the most common sense, is from 1893.^[2][3]

Timeline

• 1812 – the position of a champion.^[2]
• 1825 – the title of winner in a contest.^[3][4]
• 1840 – the defence of a person or cause.^[3]
• 1893 – a competition to decide a champion.^[2][3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A competition or series of contests held to find the best player or team.
2. The title or position of champion.
3. Active support or defence of a cause or person.

Word family

• prechampionship

Related words

• champion

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins