My interest in this question first spawned from blogging about a tennis match I lost. Even after I was decisively beaten, I still felt like a champion.
How weird, I thought, that 'champion' was the word that best described my emotion, despite having lost to my friend. I didn't feel like a "winner", nor someone with "high stamina", nor a "competitor" nor a "fighter" . . .
I had to do more research on the real meaning behind the word, Champion.
Popular Definition:
The first three definitions made me think that I had a false understanding of the meaning of the word, Champion. But then I came to the fourth definition.
cham·pi·on (chmp-n) n.
1. One that wins first place or first prize in a competition.
2. One that is clearly superior or has the attributes of a winner: a champion at teaching.
3. An ardent defender or supporter of a cause or another person: a champion of the homeless.
4. One who fights; a warrior.
war·ri·or (wôr-r, wr-) n.
1. One who is engaged in or experienced in battle.
2. One who is engaged aggressively or energetically in an activity, cause, or conflict: neighborhood warriors fighting against developers.
Even though I wasn't "the best around", like the Karate Kid, I saw myself as a warrior who engaged in battle. But I wasn't satisfied with that simple definition; there was more to it. So I dug a little deeper into the etymology of the word and found that my feelings were vindicated.
Etymology:
Click here to listen to a 3:00 minute etymology of the word champion. If that didn't work, listen to the recording here at the independent site.
Transcript from podictionary.com:
We think of champions as the people who win. A championship ball team is one that ends up defeating all the others. Or a champion can be someone sent in to do the heroic work on behalf of others. We don’t all have to go out and teach street people to read, but it’s great to know there are people who champion literacy.
The word champion appears in English from French for the first time in 1225 in the document known as the Ancrene Riwle. I’ve talked about this document before on a number of episodes and sometimes called it a kind of etiquette guide for nuns. The passage that contains our word of the day comes after a long harangue about what sins the sisters should keep an eye out for. The section that contains champion is supposed to be some kind of a treat for those well behaved nuns since it lists nine comforts as some kind of counterbalance to the seven deadly sins they’ve got to keep looking over their shoulders to avoid. It is supposed to be a comfort to know that all the temptations that your average nun must face down, have also been experienced and conquered by the saints that have gone before them. In this the saints are said to be true champions, each deserving their crown of victory over Satan and his ilk.
This citation from the Oxford English Dictionary sure makes being a champion sound like the meaning we know today. But the editors of the OED actually place this citation against the earliest meaning of champion, that of being a “fighter” or a “combatant.”
As you well know, French words often come from Latin and this is the case with champion. From Latin a champion was someone who went out on the campus. But to those old Romans a campus wasn’t where young men and women went to university, a campus was a “field,” and more specifically a “field of battle.” An arena was a campus too and sometimes the line between sport and battle was a little foggy for the Romans. So a champion wasn’t necessarily the guy who won the fight or the sporting event, it was at its roots applicable to anyone who participated in the contest on the field. Their mere participation conferred on them honor whether they won or lost. But of course honor is more abundant for the victor and so the winning tone of champion is the one that stuck.
So, there you go.
Bonus Definitions:
Over the last few days, I've asked some of my friends what they thought a champion was. Here are some of their interesting replies:
a. A champion is someone in the continual pursuit of excellence.
b. A champion is one who does not fear conflict, but faces it.
c. The mark of a true champion is completing a task with honor.
Fascinating Etymological Fact:
The word, Champion, in Germany during the middle ages meant, "one who tests" or tester. In late latin, testa meant "skull" or cup/top part of the head. Coincidentally, Vikings and Germanic Barbarians would ceremoniously drink to their enemies from their metal skull caps after battle. In the 20th century, this tradition was continued by way of the Olympics. Champions on the award stand were offered a sip of wine from a communal 'Victor's Cup' while the crowds cheered.
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Listening to: Offenbach - Infernal Gallop
ooh, I love etymology.
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