champion

champion

See also: Champion and champión

English

Etymology

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

• (General American, Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃæmpiən/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃæmpjən/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æmpiən

Noun

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, 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, first edition, Milkweed Editions, →ISBN, LCCN 2013012563, page 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, archived from the original on 2022-02-10, retrieved 2022-02-27:

     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

• championess

Derived terms

• champion data
• champion-elect
• championess
• champion in chief
• champion-in-chief
• hidden champion
• vice-champion
• world champion

 

Descendants

• → Danish: champion
• → German: Champion
• → Irish: seaimpín
• → Japanese: チャンピオン (chanpion)
• → Korean: 챔피언 (chaempieon)
• → Russian: чемпио́н (čempión)
  • → Armenian: չեմպիոն (čʿempion)
  • → Azerbaijani: çempion
  • → Crimean Tatar: çempion
  • → Gagauz: çempion
  • → Turkmen: çempion
  • → Yakut: чемпион (çempion)

Translations

someone who has been winner in a contest

Albanian: kampion (sq) m Arabic: بَطَل‎ m (baṭal) Armenian: չեմպիոն (hy) (čʿempion) Asturian: campeón m Azerbaijani: çempion (az) Basque: txapeldun Belarusian: чэмпіён m (čempijón), чэмпіёнка f (čempijónka) Bulgarian: шампио́н m (šampión), шампио́нка f (šampiónka) Catalan: campió (ca) m Chinese: Mandarin: 冠軍／冠军 (zh) (guànjūn) Czech: mistr (cs) m, mistryně (cs) f, přeborník m, šampión m Danish: mester (da), champion Dutch: kampioen (nl) m, kampioene (nl) f Esperanto: ĉampiono, ĉampionino Estonian: meister, tšempion Faroese: meistari m Finnish: mestari (fi) French: champion (fr) m, championne (fr) f Gagauz: çempion Galician: campión m Georgian: ჩემპიონი (čemṗioni) German: Sieger (de) m, Siegerin (de) f, Gewinner (de) m, Gewinnerin (de) f, Meister (de) m, Meisterin (de) f Greek: πρωταθλητής (el) m (protathlitís), πρωταθλήτρια (el) f (protathlítria) Ancient: πρόμαχος m (prómakhos) Hebrew: אַלּוּף‎ (he) m (alúf), אַלּוּפָה‎ f (alufa) Hindi: चैंपियन m (caimpiyan) Hungarian: bajnok (hu) Indonesian: pemenang (id), juara (id) Irish: curadh, seaimpín m Italian: campione (it) m, campionessa (it) f Japanese: チャンピオン (ja) (chanpion), 優勝者 (ja) (ゆうしょうしゃ, yūshōsha), 王者 (ja) (おうじゃ, ōja) Kazakh: чемпион (çempion) Khmer: ជើងឯក (cəəng ʼaek) Korean: 챔피언 (ko) (chaempieon), 우승자(優勝者) (useungja) Kyrgyz: чемпион (ky) (çempion) Latin: adversarius m, adversaria f Latvian: čempions m, čempione f Lithuanian: čempionas m, čempionė f Low German: Meester m, Mester (nds) m, Meister m, Meesterin f, Meestersch f, Meestersche f, Winner m, Winnerin f, Winnersch f, Winnersche f Macedonian: шампио́н m (šampión), шампио́нка f (šampiónka) Maori: papatū, whakaihuwaka, toki Mongolian: Cyrillic: аварга (mn) (avarga), тэмцэгч (mn) (temcegč) Norwegian: Bokmål: mester (no) m Nynorsk: meister m Occitan: campion m Pashto: اتل‎ (ps) m (atël), اتله‎ f (atëla) Persian: قهرمان‎ (fa) (qahremân) Polish: mistrz (pl) m, mistrzyni (pl) f, zwyciężca (pl) m Portuguese: campeão (pt) m, campeã f Romagnol: as m Romanian: campion (ro) m, campioană (ro) f Russian: чемпио́н (ru) m (čempión), чемпио́нка (ru) f (čempiónka), победи́тель (ru) m (pobedítelʹ), победи́тельница (ru) f (pobedítelʹnica) Scottish Gaelic: gaisgeach m Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: пр̀ва̄к m, по̀беднӣк m, по̀бједнӣк m, шампѝо̄н m Roman: pr̀vāk (sh) m, pòbednīk (sh) m, pòbjednīk (sh) m, šampìōn (sh) m Slovak: šampión m, majster m, majsterka f, preborník m Slovene: prvak (sl) m, prvakinja f Spanish: campeón (es) m, campeona (es) f Swahili: bingwa (sw) Swedish: vinnare (sv) c, vinnarinna c (female), mästare (sv) c, mästarinna (sv) c (female) Tajik: қаҳрамон (qahramon), чемпион (čempion) Tatar: җиңүче (tt) (ciñüçe), җиңеп чыгучы (ciñep çığuçı), өстен чыгучы (östen çığuçı) Thai: แชมเปี้ยน, แชมป์ (th) Turkish: şampiyon (tr) Turkmen: çempion Ukrainian: чемпіо́н m (čempión), чемпіо́нка f (čempiónka) Uzbek: chempion (uz) Vietnamese: quán quân (vi), nhà vô địch Welsh: hyrwyddwr (cy) Yiddish: מײַסטער‎ m (mayster), מײַסטערין‎ f (maysterin)

defender of a cause

Bulgarian: защи́тник (bg) m (zaštítnik), побо́рник (bg) m (pobórnik) Chinese: Mandarin: 擁護者／拥护者 (zh) (yōnghùzhě) Dutch: voorvechter (nl) m Finnish: puolestapuhuja (fi) German: Vorkämpfer (de) m, Beschützer (de) m, Fürsprecher (de) m Greek: υπέρμαχος (el) m (ypérmachos), υπερασπιστής (el) m (yperaspistís) Japanese: 擁護者 (ja) (ようごしゃ, yōgosha) Latin: propugnator m, propugnatrix f, praeses (la) m Norwegian: Bokmål: forkjemper m Nynorsk: forkjempar m Pashto: اتل‎ (ps) m (atël), اتله‎ f (atëla) Russian: побо́рник (ru) m (pobórnik), побо́рница (ru) f (pobórnica), защи́тник (ru) m (zaščítnik), защи́тница (ru) f (zaščítnica) Scots: fechter Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: по̀бо̄рнӣк m, загово̀рнӣк m Roman: pòbōrnīk (sh) m, zagovòrnīk (sh) m Spanish: adalid (es), valedor, abanderado (es) m, defensor (es) m, paladín (es) m, quijote (es) m Swedish: förkämpe c

someone who fights on another's behalf

Greek: Ancient: ὑπέρμαχος m (hupérmakhos) Latin: prōpugnātor m

Adjective

champion (not comparable)

1. (attributive) Acting as a champion; having defeated all one's competitors.
2. (attributive) Excellent; beyond compare.
3. (predicative, Ireland, Britain, dialect) Excellent; brilliant; superb; deserving of high praise.

   "That rollercoaster was champion," laughed Vinny.

Related terms

• championship

Translations

something very positive

Bulgarian: отличен (bg) (otličen) Danish: mesterlig, førsteklasses Dutch: meesterlijk (nl), eerste klasse (nl) Finnish: mestari (fi) Pashto: اتل‎ (ps) (atël)

Verb

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.).
2. (obsolete, transitive) To challenge.

Translations

to advocate

Bulgarian: защитавам (bg) (zaštitavam), подкрепям (bg) (podkrepjam) Danish: forsvare, forfægte Dutch: voorvechten Finnish: puolustaa (fi), taistella jonkun puolesta French: championner (fr) German: eintreten für Greek: προασπίζω (el) (proaspízo), υπερασπίζομαι (el) (yperaspízomai) Russian: защища́ть (ru) impf (zaščiščátʹ), отста́ивать (ru) impf (otstáivatʹ) Spanish: defender (es), abogar por Swedish: kämpa för

References

• “champion”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989, →ISBN.
• champion in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• champion in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
• champion at OneLook Dictionary Search

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French

Etymology

From Old French champion, from Medieval Latin or Late Latin campiō, campiōnem (“champion, fighter”), from Frankish *kampijō, from Proto-Germanic *kampijô, based on Latin campus (“level ground”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃɑ̃.pjɔ̃/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

champion m (plural champions, feminine championne)

1. champion

Derived terms

• champion du monde
• championnat
• championner

Related terms

• champ

Descendants

• → Czech: šampión
• → Slovak: šampión
• → Turkish: şampiyon

Further reading

• “champion”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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Middle English

Noun

champion

1. Alternative form of champioun