核心畫面

The ending -ship on a person-word usually means 'being that person': friendship is being a friend, membership is being a member. So the picture inside championship is being the champion — the title you hold and the seat you sit in once you have won, which you keep until someone takes it from you. Two things fall out of that one picture. First, the event that decides who gets to hold the title. Second, and less obvious, the act of fighting for someone or something, because a champion is not only a winner but also a person who stands up on another's behalf.

英文裡 -ship 接在「人」的字後面,通常表示「當這個人這件事」:friendship 是當朋友、membersh更多收起英文裡 -ship 接在「人」的字後面,通常表示「當這個人這件事」:friendship 是當朋友、membership 是當會員。所以 championship 的核心畫面可以想成「當 champion 這件事」——你贏了以後拿到的頭銜、坐上的那個位子,一直坐到有人把你換下來為止。從這一個畫面會長出兩件事:一是決定誰能坐上這位子的那場比賽,二是比較不明顯的「為某人或某事挺身而出」,因為 champion 不只是贏家,也可以是替別人出面打這一仗的人。

From the word’s history

Champion came into English in the early 13th century from Old French 'champion', from Late Latin 'campionem' = 'gladiator, fighter, combatant in the field', built on Latin 'campus' = 'field (of combat)'. From very early on it carried two readings side by side: 'a valorous fighting man' and 'one who fights on behalf of another, one who undertakes to defend a cause'. The sporting 'first-place performer' sense is much later (about 1730). 'Championship' itself is recorded from 1812 meaning 'position of a champion', and only from 1893 as 'competition to determine a champion'.

champion 在十三世紀初從古法文進英文,源頭是晚期拉丁文的 campionem「在場上作戰的鬥士」,字根是拉丁文 campus「(作戰的)場地」。很早的時候,這個字就同時帶著兩種讀法:一是「勇猛的戰士」,二是「替別人出面作戰、替某個主張辯護的人」。運動場上「第一名」那個意思其實晚得多(約 1730 年)。championship 這個字 1812 年出現時指的是「champion 的位置」,要到 1893 年才用來指「決定誰是 champion 的比賽」。知道這一層,第三個意思「擁護、倡導」就不再是憑空冒出來的:它保留的是這個字更老的那一半。

Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com), entries 'champion' and 'championship'

From the picture

替某人或某個主張出面

這一支接的不是「贏家」那一半,而是 champion 更老的另一半:替別人上場打這一仗的人。所以這裡的 championship 不是頭銜,而是「當某件事的 champion」這個行為。

advocacy of a cause · noun · B1

The act of strongly supporting a person, idea, or cause.

擁護 / 倡導

Also in this word

champion title · noun · B1

The position or period of being the champion in a sport.

冠軍頭銜 / 冠軍寶座

championship (competition) · noun · B1

A competition or series of games held to decide which player or team is the best in a sport.

錦標賽 / 冠軍賽

原始詞典資料5 筆記錄

以下是外部詞典記錄的用法,原文照列,我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的;有些用法可能上面已經講過了。

Championshipname

  • 1

    ball-gamesgameshobbiesthe EFL Championship (the second-highest division of English football)

  • 2

    ball-gamesgameshobbiesthe Scottish Championship (the second-highest division of Scottish football)

championshipnoun/ˈtʃæm.pi.ən.ʃɪp/

  • 1

    hobbieslifestylesportsA competition to determine a champion, especially the final of a series of competitions.

  • 2

    The position of champion, or winner.

  • 3

    Defense or support of some cause.

    • His championship of civil rights eventually bore fruit.
    • They had also dropped their championship of Jones, who had given up hope of getting his farm back and gone to live in another part of the county.

資料來源:英文維基詞典 English WiktionaryCC BY-SA 4.0)。 原文照列,未經改寫。