Championships

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈt͡ʃæmpi.ənʃɪps/

Definitions

1. A competitive event where individuals or teams strive to achieve the title of champion in a specific sport or field
2. Tournaments or series of contests held to determine the best participant or team within a particular sport or discipline
3. Organized competitions culminating in a final match or series to establish the top contender against others within the same category

Etymology: "Championships" is the plural of "championship," which is formed from "champion" plus the suffix "-ship." The suffix comes from Old English "-scipe," meaning a state, condition, or quality, the same element that gives us "friendship" and "kingship." So a championship is, at its root, the state or condition of being a champion. The base word has a longer and more physical past. "Champion" arrived in Middle English from Old French "champiun," which traces back through Medieval Latin "campiō" to the Latin "campus," meaning a field. The field connection is the surprise: the earliest champions were combatants who fought in the open field, especially in judicial duels, before the word came to mean a winner of a contest.

Synonyms: tournaments, contests