Without a champion; lacking someone who defends or supports a cause.
From champion (from Old French 'champion', meaning fighter or warrior) + -less (Old English suffix meaning without). The suffix -less has been used since Old English to negate or remove qualities from nouns.
The word 'championless' is rarely used today, but it perfectly captures the medieval anxiety about being undefended—in a time when every lord needed a champion to fight for them in disputes, being 'championless' meant being genuinely vulnerable.
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