champeen

English

Etymology

A corruption of champion.

Noun

champeen (plural champeens)

1. (nonstandard) A champion.
   • 1912, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter 19, in The Prince and Betty:

     "He could whip a dozen Cyclone Dicks in the same evening with his eyes shut."
     "He's the next champeen," admitted the first speaker.

   • 1917, Jeffrey Farnol, chapter 24, in The Definite Object:

     "You're right, me lad, I was the best fightin' man, the greatest champeen as ever was."

   • 1920, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 1, in The Big-Town Round-Up:

     "I'd take a li'l' bet that New York ain't lookin' for no champeen ropers or bronco-busters," said Stace.

   • 1991 August 12, “Entertainment: Will Tyson Do The Encores?”, in Time:

     In this corner, the operatic heavyweight from Modena, Italy, Luciano Pavarotti! And in this corner, that Iberian emoter, champeen tenor Placido Domingo!

   • 2005 July 24, Paul Oerjuerge, “Armstrong untouchable to the end”, in The Sun, San Bernardino, USA, retrieved 18 October 2010:

     So, there he goes, riding off into the golden sunset of history. Lance Armstrong, champeen of the cycling world.

Usage notes

• Originally used especially to refer to a champion in the sport of boxing, but since extended to other contexts.

Anagrams

• camphene