avant-garde

See also: avantgarde and Avantgarde

English

WOTD – 31 January 2012

Alternative forms

• avantgarde

Etymology

Borrowed from French avant-garde (“vanguard”). Doublet of vanguard and vaward.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /æˈvɑ̃t.ɡɑːd/, /æˈvɑ̃.ɡɑːd/, /ˌæ.vɑ̃ˈɡɑːd/, /ˈæ.vn̩t.ɡɑːd/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌɑˌvɑntˈɡɑɹd/, /əˌvɑntˈɡɑɹd/, /ˌæ.vɑntˈɡɑɹd/, /ˌɑˌvæntˈɡɑɹd/, /əˌvæntˈɡɑɹd/, /ˌɑˌvɑ̃ˈɡɑɹd/, /ˌæˌvɑ̃ˈɡɑɹd/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Noun

avant-garde (plural avant-gardes)

1. (obsolete) The vanguard of an army or other force.

   Antonym: arrière-garde

2. Any group of people who invent or promote new techniques or concepts, especially in the arts.

   Antonym: arrière-garde

Translations

(obsolete) the vanguard of an army or other force

• Catalan: avantguarda (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 前衛／前卫 (zh) (qiánwèi)

• Finnish: etujoukko
• French: avant-garde (fr) f
• German: Vorhut (de) f
• Italian: avanguardia (it) f
• Japanese: 前衛 (zen'ei)
• Macedonian: аванга́рда f (avangárda)
• Polish: awangarda (pl) f
• Portuguese: vanguarda (pt) f
• Romanian: avangardă (ro) f
• Russian: аванга́рд (ru) m (avangárd), головно́й отря́д m (golovnój otrjád), передово́й отря́д m (peredovój otrjád)
• Spanish: vanguardia (es) f, anteguardia f
• Thai: แนวหน้า (nɛɛo-nâa)

group of people promoting new concepts

• Aragonese: abantguarda f
• Bengali: অগ্রপথিক (bn) (ogropothik)
• Catalan: avantguarda (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 前衛派／前卫派

• Czech: avantgarda f
• Danish: avantgarde (da)
• Finnish: avantgardistit pl, etujoukko
• French: avant-garde (fr) f
• German: Avantgarde (de) f, Vorhut (de) f, Vorreiter (de) pl or m, Vorkämpfer (de) pl or m, Pioniere (de) pl or f
• Hebrew: אוונגרדי‎ (he)
• Italian: avanguardia (it) f
• Japanese: 前衛 (zen'ei)
• Korean: 전위 (ko) (jeonwi)
• Macedonian: авангарди́ст m (avangardíst)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: avantgarde m

  Nynorsk: avantgarde m

• Persian: آوانگارد‎ (fa) (âvângârd)
• Polish: awangarda (pl) f
• Portuguese: vanguarda (pt) f
• Russian: аванга́рд (ru) m (avangárd), авангарди́сты (ru) m pl (avangardísty)
• Spanish: vanguardia (es) f

Adjective

avant-garde (comparative more avant-garde, superlative most avant-garde)

1. Innovative, pioneering, especially when extremely or obviously so.

   It was a very avant-garde production.

   • 2014, James Dobson, Modesty and Self-Esteem‎^[1]:

     I fear she will pay a heavy price for the avant-garde ideas she has been sold.

Synonyms

• mistakenly trendy
• (outside the mainstream): underground
• See also Thesaurus:innovation

Translations

innovative, pioneering, especially when extremely or obviously so

• Belarusian: авангарды́сцкі (avanhardýscki)
• Catalan: avantguardista
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 前衛／前卫 (zh) (qiánwèi), 先鋒／先锋 (zh) (xiānfēng)

• Estonian: avangardistlik, avangardne
• Finnish: avantgardistinen
• Galician: vangardista
• German: avantgardistisch (de)
• Hungarian: avantgárd (hu)
• Japanese: 前衛的 (ja) (zen'eiteki)
• Macedonian: авангарди́стички (avangardístički)
• Malay: avant-garde
• Polish: awangardowy (pl) m
• Portuguese: vanguardista
• Russian: авангарди́стский (ru) (avangardístskij), аванга́рдный (ru) (avangárdnyj)
• Spanish: vanguardista (es)
• Ukrainian: авангарди́стський (avanhardýstsʹkyj), аванга́рдний (uk) (avanhárdnyj)

See also

• leading edge

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French avantgarde. By surface analysis, avant (“before, in front of”) +‎ garde (“guard”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.vɑ̃.ɡaʁd/

• Audio (Vosges, France)

  (file)

Noun

avant-garde f (plural avant-gardes)

1. (military) vanguard [since mid-12th c.]

   Antonym: arrière-garde

   • 1879, Alfred Barbou, Les Trois Républiques françaises : Histoire populaire de la République en France [The Three French Republics: People's history of the Republic in France], A. Duquesne:

     Le 11 décembre, les avant-gardes ennemies étaient signalées aux environs de Château-Thierry.

     On December 11, the enemy vanguard was reported in the vicinity of Château-Thierry.

2. (figuratively) avant-garde, firing line [since mid-16th c.]

Derived terms

• avant-gardisme
• avant-gardiste
• d’avant-garde

 

Descendants

• → Danish: avantgarde
• → English: avant-garde
• → German: Avantgarde
• → Korean: 아방가르드 (abanggareudeu)
• → Norwegian Bokmål: avantgarde
• → Norwegian Nynorsk: avantgarde
• → Swedish: avantgarde
• → Turkish: avangart

Further reading

• “avant-garde”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Middle French

Noun

avant-garde f (plural avant-gardes)

1. (military) vanguard