(also avant garde, avantgarde); French, literally "advance guard" (see avant + guard (n.)). Used in English 15c.-18c. in a literal, military sense; borrowed again 1910 as an artistic term for "pioneers or innovators of a particular period." Also used around the same time in a political sense in communist and anarchist publications. As an adjective, by 1925.
The avant-garde générale, avant-garde stratégique, or avant-garde d'armée is a strong force (one, two, or three army corps) pushed out a day's march to the front, immediately behind the cavalry screen. Its mission is, vigorously to engage the enemy wherever he is found, and, by binding him, to ensure liberty of action in time and space for the main army. ["Sadowa," Gen. Henri Bonnal, transl. C.F. Atkinson, 1907]
Proto-Indo-European root meaning "perceive, watch out for."
It forms all or part of: Arcturus; avant-garde; award; aware; beware; Edward; ephor; garderobe; guard; hardware; irreverence; lord; panorama; pylorus; rearward; regard; revere; reverence; reverend; reward; software; steward; vanguard; ward; warden; warder; wardrobe; ware (n.) "manufactured goods, goods for sale;" ware (v.) "to take heed of, beware;" warehouse; wary.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Latin vereri "to observe with awe, revere, respect, fear;" Greek ouros "a guard, watchman," horan "to see;" Hittite werite- "to see;" Old English weard "a guarding, protection; watchman, sentry, keeper."
It forms all or part of: advance; advantage; along; ancestor; ancient (adj.); answer; Antaeus; ante; ante-; ante meridiem; antecede; antecedent; antedate; antediluvian; ante-partum; antepenultimate; anterior; anti-; antic; anticipate; anticipation; antique; antler; avant-garde; elope; end; rampart; un- (2) prefix of reversal; until; vambrace; vamp (n.1) "upper of a shoe or boot;" vanguard.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit antah "end, border, boundary;" Hittite hanti "opposite;" Greek anta, anten "opposite," anti "over against, opposite, before;" Latin ante (prep., adv.) "before (in place or time), in front of, against;" Old Lithuanian anta "on to;" Gothic anda "along;" Old English and- "against;" German ent- "along, against."
"former, late, ex-," applied to a person with reference to an office or position he no longer occupies, 1790, from French, properly an adverb, "formerly, before," from ci, contracted from ici "here," + devant, from Old French davant, properly d'avant, from de "of" + avant "before" (see avant).
