Etymologically
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championship

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 00:11. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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

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