champion

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”).

noun

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.
   Emmeline Pankhurst was a champion of women's suffrage.
   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. 2012, Sue Watling, Jim Rogers, Social Work in a Digital Society, page 34
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.
   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. 1938-11-05, Puritan Cordage Mills, “Take a Lesson from a Lily”, in Elmer C. Hole, editor, American Lumberman, volume 65, number 3138, Chicago, page 55
   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. 2013, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 1st edition, Milkweed Editions, →LCCN, pages 43–44
   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. 2022-02-10, 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

adj

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.

verb

1. (transitive) To promote, advocate, or act as a champion for (a cause, etc.).
2. (obsolete, transitive) To challenge.