avant

See also: Avant, avànt, avânt, and avant-

English

Etymology

Abbreviated from avant-garde.

Noun

avant (plural avants)

1. (obsolete) The front of an army; the vanguard.

Related terms

• van

See also

• avant-corps
• avant-disco
• avant-funk

 

References

• “avant”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney and Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1914), “avant”, in The Century Dictionary: An Encyclopedic Lexicon of the English Language, revised edition, volumes I (A–C), New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Late Latin ab ante (“before, in front of”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [əˈβan]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [əˈvant]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [aˈvant]

Adverb

avant

1. 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, 2024
• “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.

Franco-Provençal

Etymology

Inherited from Late Latin ab ante.

Adverb

avant (ORB, broad)

1. before

Preposition

avant (ORB, broad)

1. before, ahead of

Derived terms

• avantâjo

Related terms

• avanciér

References

• avant in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
• avant in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

French

Etymology

Inherited 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 (Canada):

  (file)

• Homophones: avants, avent, Avent

Adverb

avant

1. beforehand; earlier

   Je l’avais fait avant. ― I had done it beforehand.

Preposition

avant

1. 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.

2. before (in space), in front of, ahead of

   Antonym: après

Derived terms

• aller de l’avant
• auparavant
• avant la lettre
• avant longtemps
• avant l’heure
• avant peu
• avant que
• avant que de
• avant tout
• avant-bras
• avant-centre
• avant-coureur
• avant-dernier
• avant-garde
• avant-goût
• avant-guerre
• avant-hier
• avant-poste
• avant-propos
• avant-veille
• avantage
• 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)

1. front

   l’avant d’une voiture ― The front of a car.

2. (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

1. (Jersey) beforehand; earlier

Preposition

avant

1. (Jersey) before
   • 1903, Edgar MacCulloch, “Proverbs, Weather Sayings, etc.”, in Guernsey Folk Lore‎^[1], page 533:

     Six s'maïnes avant Noué, et six s'maïnes après, les nits sont les pûs longues, et le jours les pûs freds.

     Six weeks before Christmas and six weeks after, the nights are the longest and the days the coldest.

Derived terms

• avant-hièr (“day before yesterday”)

Noun

avant m (plural avants)

1. (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

1. beforehand; earlier

Preposition

avant

1. before

Related terms

• avancier

Descendants

• French: avant
• Norman: avant
• → Middle English: avaunt

Romansch

Alternative forms

• avon (Sursilvan)
• avànt (Sutsilvan)
• aunz, avaunt (Puter)

Etymology

From Late Latin ab ante, from Latin ab + ante.

Preposition

avant

1. (Rumantsch Grischun, Surmiran, Vallader) before, beforehand
2. (Rumantsch Grischun, Surmiran, Vallader) ago