From Latin 'campus' (field) via 'campionem' (field-fighter) — the original champion was a combatant, not a winner.
A person who has surpassed all rivals in a competition; also, historically, a warrior who fights on behalf of another.
From Old French 'champion' (combatant, fighter in single combat), from Late Latin 'campiōnem' (accusative of 'campiō,' a gladiator or fighter), from Latin 'campus' (a flat field, open ground, field of battle). The original champion was not a winner but a fighter — specifically someone who fought in single combat on an open field, either as a gladiator or as a judicial champion representing another person in trial by combat. The shift from 'fighter' to 'winner' occurred as the contexts of combat became formalized into competition. Key roots: campus (Latin: "open field
A 'champion' and a 'campus' share the same root — Latin 'campus' (field). A champion was originally someone who fought on the field, while a university campus is simply the field or grounds of the institution. Both words descend from the same flat piece of open ground.
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