avant
See also: Avant, avànt, avânt, and avant-
English
Etymology
Abbreviated from avant-garde.
Noun
avant (plural avants)
- (obsolete) The front of an army; the vanguard.
Related terms
- van
References
- avant in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- William Dwight Whitney and Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1914), “avant”, in The Century Dictionary: An Encyclopedic Lexicon of the English Language, volume I (A–C), revised edition, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., OCLC 1078064371.
Catalan
Etymology
From Late Latin ab ante (“before, in front of”).
Pronunciation
- (Balearic) IPA(key): /əˈvant/
- (Central) IPA(key): /əˈban/
- (Valencian) IPA(key): /aˈvant/
Adverb
avant
- forward, ahead, onward
- Synonym: endavant
- Antonym: endarrere
Derived terms
- avant-
- avantatge
- davant
Related terms
- abans
Further reading
- “avant” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “avant”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2023
- “avant” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “avant” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
French
Etymology
From Middle French avant, from Old French avant (“before, prior in time, forward”), from Late Latin ab ante (“before, in front of”), from Latin ab (“from”) + ante (“before”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /a.vɑ̃/
audio (file) Audio (CAN) (file) - Homophones: avants, avent, Avent
Adverb
avant
- beforehand; earlier
- Je l'avais fait avant. ― I had done it beforehand.
Preposition
avant
- before (in time)
- Antonym: après
- Elle est arrivé un jour avant moi. ― She arrived one day before me.
- Il faut se laver avant de manger. ― You must wash before eating.
- Tais-toi avant que je ne te tue. ― Shut up before I kill you.
- before (in space), in front of, ahead of
- Antonym: après
Derived terms
- aller de l'avant
- auparavant
- auvent
- avant-bras
- avant-centre
- avant-coureur
- avant-dernier
- avant-garde
- avant-goût
- avant-guerre
- avant-hier
- avant la lettre
- avant l'heure
- avant longtemps
- avant peu
- avant-poste
- avant-propos
- avant que
- avant que de
- avant tout
- avant-veille
- bond en avant
- d'abord et avant tout
- d'avant
- en avant
- gaillard d'avant
- salto avant
Related terms
- avancer
Descendants
- Haitian Creole: anvan
Noun
avant m (plural avants)
- front
- l'avant d'une voiture ― The front of a car.
- (sports) forward
Further reading
- “avant”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
- vanta
Norman
Etymology
From Old French avant, from Late Latin ab ante (“before, in front of”), from Latin ab (“from”) + ante (“before”).
Adverb
avant
- (Jersey) beforehand; earlier
Preposition
avant
- (Jersey) before
Derived terms
- avant-hièr (“day before yesterday”)
Noun
avant m (plural avants)
- (Jersey, nautical) bow
Derived terms
- gaillard d'avant (“forecastle”)
- mât d'avant (“foremast”)
- vaile d'avant (“foresail”)
Old French
Alternative forms
- avaunt
Etymology
From Late Latin ab ante (“before, in front of”), from Latin ab (“from”) + ante (“before”).
Adverb
avant
- beforehand; earlier
Preposition
avant
- before
Related terms
- avancier
Descendants
- French: avant
- Norman: avant
- → Middle English: avaunt
Romansch
Alternative forms
- (Sursilvan) avon
- (Sutsilvan) avànt
- (Puter) aunz, avaunt
Etymology
From Late Latin ab ante, from Latin ab + ante.
Preposition
avant
- (Rumantsch Grischun, Surmiran, Vallader) before, beforehand
- (Rumantsch Grischun, Surmiran, Vallader) ago