champ English · revision 15001
17 Oct 2026, 14:23 by bogdan “en10k b0421: hometown … fog” current version
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+ Champ, to chew noisily, is probably imitative; champ, a champion, is a clipping.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /tʃæmp/^(Roach et al. 2011)
+
+ {{homograph|1|chew}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=onomatopoeia|attested=1530}}
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ To chew noisily is probably imitative.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)^(Collins 2023) The OED, as quoted by Etymonline, suggests a connection with [[jam]].^(Etymonline) Earlier forms were cham and chamb (late 14th century).^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ To chew noisily, crunch: 1530, in Palsgrave, in Barnhart; the 1520s in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster gives the 14th century.^(MWU 2024)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ Of horses, to bite repeatedly and impatiently, it is from the 1570s, and the figurative ''to champ at the bit'' by the 1640s.^(Etymonline) The noun, the act of champing, is from 1604.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) In dialect a champ was anything chewed or trampled into a pulp,^(OED 1989) and in Ulster a dish of mashed potatoes with spring onions.^(Collins 2023)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * late 14th century – cham, chamb.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1530 – to champ.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * 1570s – of horses.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1604 – a champ (noun).^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)
+ * 1640s – to champ at the bit.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Verb===
+ # To chew noisily, as a horse does.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # To bite or gnaw impatiently.^(Collins 2023)
+ # ''champ at the bit'': to be impatient to start.^(Collins 2023)^(Etymonline)
+
+ ===Noun===
+ # The act or sound of champing.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 1989)
+ # ''(Ulster)'' A dish of mashed potatoes with spring onions or leeks.^(Collins 2023)
+
+ {{homograph|2|champion}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=clipping|attested=1868}}
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ The champion is a clipping of [[champion]], in American English.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ A champion: 1868.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1868 – champ, champion (US).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # ''(informal)'' A champion.^(AHD)
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[champion]]
+ * [[chomp]]
+
+ ==Usage notes==
+ An obsolete champ, a field, also the field of a shield in heraldry (about 1300), is from [[fro|champ]], from [[la|campus]].^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}