Avant-Garde
/ˌæv.ɒ̃ˈɡɑːrd/noun
Innovative or experimental work, especially in the arts, that is radically ahead of established conventions.
Did you know?In medieval and early modern military usage, the avant-garde was the forward division exposed first to the enemy; its artistic meaning emerged in nineteenth-century French.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*per-
“Forward or before; a reconstructed root connected with movement ahead.”
Classical Latin
Latin
ante
“Before, in front of, or previously.”
Late Latin
Latin
ab ante
“From before or forward; the source of French avant and related forms such as advance.”
12th–13th Century
Old French
avant
“Before, in front, or ahead.”
12th–14th Century
Old French
garde
“Guard, protection, or a body of soldiers; from Germanic *wardon, 'to watch or guard.'”
15th–16th Century
French
avant-garde
“The forward guard or leading troops of an army.”
19th Century–Modern English
French/English
avant-garde
“A pioneering movement or work, especially one challenging artistic and cultural conventions.”