Champo

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. Informal slang for champagne, the sparkling white wine served at celebrations and parties
2. A casual clipped name for champagne, the effervescent wine often poured to mark special occasions
3. Colloquial term for the sparkling French wine that is commonly drunk at festive gatherings

Etymology: "Champo" is an archaic spelling of "shampoo", and the story behind the word begins in India, not in any bottle. It comes from Hindi "cā̃po", the imperative form of "cā̃pnā", meaning "to press" or "to knead". Anyone who has had a head massage in the subcontinent will recognise the idea: a practitioner working the scalp and limbs with firm pressure. The verb itself traces back through Prakrit, the family of vernacular languages spoken in ancient India. English borrowed the word in the mid-18th century, when British travellers and colonial officials encountered the massage and brought the term home. Its earliest English meaning was therefore the physical act of kneading, not washing hair. Only gradually did it narrow to the cleansing of the scalp and hair, and eventually to the product used for it.

Synonyms: shampoo, wash