noun, feminine/a.vɑ̃.ɡaʁd/plural: avant-gardes
vanguard; avant-garde, firing line; vanguard, the most politicized and conscious part of the proletariat.
“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.
Antonyms: arrière-garde
Inherited from Old French avantgarde. By surface analysis, avant (“before, in front of”) + garde (“guard”).