• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Language / Where Did the Word “Champions” Come From and What Does the Term Mean?

Where Did the Word “Champions” Come From and What Does the Term Mean?

March 24, 2020 by Karen Hill

A boxing champion is, of course, the best in his class, but the word has a more honorable history than its use in sports.

Derived from the Latin word campus, which refers to an open field where battles were fought, the word champion passed into French before being adopted into English in the thirteenth century.

Its meaning was “one who fights on behalf of another” or “one who defends a person or a cause.”

The victors in a competition are called “champions”.

Related Facts

  • The History of the Dictionary
  • Where do Germs, Bacteria, and Viruses come from and How do they make us sick?
  • Top 25 Inventions That Changed Our Lives Forever
  • The Best 20 Inventions Ever Invented
  • Top 25 Inventions That Changed the World
  • What was the European Age of Exploration?

Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Where Did the Expression “Whipped Into Shape” Come From and What Does the Phrase Mean?
Next Post: Where Did the Word “Coach” Come From and What Does it Mean in Hungarian? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy