Champ
late Middle English: probably imitative.
wiktionary
See champion
From Middle English champen, chammen(“to bite; gnash the teeth”), perhaps originally imitative.
From champagne by shortening.
Borrowed from French champ(“field”). Doublet of campus and camp.
Blend of church + camp or back-formation from champing.
etymonline
champ (n.1)
1868, American English abbreviation of champion (n.).
champ (v.)
1520s, "to chew noisily, crunch;" 1570s (of horses) "to bite repeatedly and impatiently," probably echoic; OED suggests a connection with jam (v.). Earlier also cham, chamb, etc. (late 14c.). To champ on (or at) the bit, as an eager horse will, is attested in the figurative sense by 1640s. Related: Champed; champing. As a noun, "act of biting repeatedly, action of champing," from c. 1600.
champ (n.2)
"a field," c. 1300, from Old French champ, from Latin campus "flat land, field" (see campus).
