champaign
/ˈʃæmpeɪn/
champaign noun: open countryside, or an area of open countryside.
Noun
champaign (plural champaigns)
- Open countryside, or an area of open countryside.
- Thenne ſyre Gawayne was ſore greued with theſe wordes / and pulled oute his ſwerd and ſmote of his hede / And therwith torned theyr horſes and rode ouer waters and thurgh woodes tyl they came to theyre buſſhement / where as ſyr Lyonel and ſyr Bedeuer were houyng / The romayns folowed faſt after on...[1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “Capitulum Sextum”, in [Le Morte Darthur], book V (in Middle English), [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, →OCLC, leaves 85, recto –...
- Of all theſe bounds euen from this Line, to this, / With ſhadowie Forreſts, and with Champains rich'd / With plenteous Riuers, and wide-ſkirted Meades / We make thee Lady.c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
- A battlefield.
Adjective
champaign (comparative more champaign, superlative most champaign)
- Pertaining to open countryside; unforested, flat.
- They are ſeated alongſt the ſea-coaſt, encompaſſed toward the land with huge and ſteepie mountains, having betweene both, a hundred leagues or there abouts of open and champaine ground.1603, Michel de Montaigne, “Of the Caniballes”, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book I, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC, page 102
- A fine champagne country, well stored with corn.1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC
Proper noun capitalized: Champaign
IPA/ˌʃæmˈpeɪn/
Champaign
- A city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States.
Examples of champaign in a sentence
- Where the Red Lion ſtaring o'er the way, / Invites each paſſing ſtranger that can pay; / Where Calvert’s butt, and Parſon’s black champaign, / Regale the drabs and bloods of Drury-lane; […]a. 1775, Oliver Goldsmith, “A Description of an Author’s Bed-chamber”, in Poems and Plays. […], London: Messrs. Price [et al.], published...
- […] unthinking whether some grim fate were poised hawkwise above the level champaign of his life, or some dark storm of sorrow brewing on its calm horizon.1892, Maxwell Gray, The Last Sentence, page 12:
- In England mobility was taken for granted, at least outside the champaign agricultural areas.1972, Christopher Hill, The World Turned Upside Down, Folio Society, published 2016, page 35:
Synonyms of champaign
Forms of champaign
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | champaigns |
| alternative form | champeyne |
| alternative form | champaine |
| alternative form | champagne |
| alternative form | champain |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | more champaign |
| superlative | most champaign |
Origin of champaign
From Old French champaigne, from Late Latin campānia.
Words formed from champaign
Words that rhyme with champaign
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- drain
- pane
- gain
- main
- sustain
- vein
- entertain
- skein
- Wayne
- abstain
- bane
- campaign
- champagne
- crane
- entrain
- fain
- insane
- maine
- pain
- plane
- stain
- wane
- Aquitaine
- ascertain
- chicane
- contain
- detain
- explain
- maintain
- mundane
- obtain
- refrain
- remain
- vane
- amain
- arcane
- Blaine
- complain
- deign
- detrain
- distrain
- kane
- ordain
- pertain
- profane
- public domain
- reign
- swain
Questions about champaign
- What does champaign mean?
- Champaign means open countryside, or an area of open countryside.
- How do you use champaign in a sentence?
- Where the Red Lion ſtaring o'er the way, / Invites each paſſing ſtranger that can pay; / Where Calvert’s butt, and Parſon’s black champaign, / Regale the drabs and bloods of Drury-lane; […]
- What part of speech is champaign?
- Champaign can be a noun, an adjective or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce champaign?
- Champaign is pronounced /ˈʃæmpeɪn/.
- What is the plural of champaign?
- The plural of champaign is champaigns.
Words near champaign in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: champaign (page history and authors); Champaign (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “champaign.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/champaign. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.