yokozuna means the highest rank of sumo wrestler, above ozeki; grand champion. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 90 out of 100.
Why “yokozuna” is a great word
YOKOZUNA — [Noun] The preeminent and permanent rank of grand champion in sumo wrestling, or the wrestler who embodies this pinnacle of skill, strength, and ritual purity. From Japanese 横綱 (yokozuna, 'wide rope'), the sacred straw rope worn as a belt by the grand champion, from yoko ('horizontal, across') + tsuna ('rope'). Unlike "rikishi" (a general term for any sumo wrestler) or "ozeki" (the second-highest rank, from which one can be demoted), the yokozuna is a singular, burdensome apotheosis above the competitive fray. It is the deafening hush before the clash, the slow, deliberate stamp to purify the clay, and the heavy white rope arcing across a mountain of flesh—a man refined by contest into a lonely monument to an ideal that must never falter.
Etymology
From Japanese 横綱(よこづな) (yokozuna, “wide rope”), the symbol of their rank worn about the waist.
noun
- The highest rank of sumo wrestler, above ozeki; grand champion.“A yokozuna is the very highest rank in sumo – “just like Mameha's position in Gion,” as Nobu explained it to me. I had no reason to doubt him; but if Mameha ever took half as much time entering a party as these yokozuna took entering the ring, she'd certainly never be invited back.”
- A person holding the rank, either competing at the rank or retired after having achieved it.“What mattered most was that, from the very top of the Nihon Sumo Kyōkai, Yokozuna Akebono had been shown respect.”