DCHP-2

espoir Espoir, > French espoir 'hope' DCHP-2 (October 2016)

• 1 adj. — Sports, often in compounds

  a status as a junior athlete of potentially international calibre.

  Type: 1. Origin — From French, espoir is used to describe a high level of sporting ability, where athletes are hopeful of joining a professional or Olympic team. This term is most frequently used in Canada (see Chart 1). The term is used for a wide variety of sports.
  See also COD-2, s.v. "espoir" (2), which is marked "Cdn".

  See also: peewee  atom  bantam  major junior  Junior A  

• 2 n. & adj. — Sports, usually attributively

  an athlete in such a division.

  Type: 1. Origin — See meaning 1.