champagne
[sham-peyn]
- (initial capital letter) the sparkling, dry, white table wine from the region of Champagne in France.
- a similar sparkling wine produced elsewhere.
- (formerly) the nonsparkling, dry, white table wine produced in the region of Champagne in France.
- a very pale yellow or greenish-yellow color.
- anything considered the best or luxurious.
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- having the color of champagne.
- luxurious or expensive: champagne tastes.
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Origin of champagne
First recorded in 1655–65; after Champagne
Champagne
[sham-peyn; French shahn-pan-yuh]
- a region and former province in NE France.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for champagne
Contemporary Examples
His keepers fed the beast copious amounts of port, Champagne, and whiskey to pacify the persnickety pachyderm.
Zebra Finches, Dolphins, Elephants, and More Animals Under the InfluenceBill Schulz
December 31, 2014
Take one part Kim Kardashian, perhaps our most polarizing superstar, and add oil and champagne.
Champagne, which is also acidic, offers a nice complement to anything from tuna tartare to beef bourguignon.
Champagne should be fun and you should savor every moment of it.
That means that Champagne is fermented a second time in the bottle when sealed closed, which naturally produces the bubbles.
Historical Examples
Much of it, apparently, he will convert into that champagne he now drinks.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
The scent of a big item was in his nostrils, and it stimulated him like champagne.
In the Midst of AlarmsRobert Barr
We'll have a champagne supper, with cider for champagne, eh, dad?
ThoroughbredsW. A. Fraser
A single glass of champagne imparts a feeling of exhilaration.
The Story of the Malakand Field ForceSir Winston S. Churchill
You will taste some of the sofas and tables to-day in his champagne.
Alice, or The Mysteries, CompleteEdward Bulwer-Lytton
champagne
- (sometimes capital) a white sparkling wine produced around Reims and Epernay, France
- (loosely) any effervescent white wine
- a colour varying from a pale orange-yellow to a greyish-yellow
- (as adjective)a champagne carpet
- (modifier) denoting a luxurious lifestylea champagne capitalist
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Word Origin
from Champagne, a region of NE France
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for champagne
n.
1660s, from French, short for vin de Champagne "wine made in Champagne," former province in northwest France, literally "open country" (see campaign (n.)). Originally any wine from this region, focused to the modern meaning late 18c.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper