vanguard
pronunciation
How to pronounce vanguard in British English:
UK [ˈvænɡɑːd]
How to pronounce vanguard in American English:
US [ˈvænɡɑːrd]
-
- Noun:
- the leading units moving at the head of an army
- any creative group active in the innovation and application of new concepts and techniques in a given field (especially in the arts)
- the position of greatest advancement; the leading position in any movement or field
Word Origin
- vanguard
- vanguard: [15] Vanguards have nothing to do with guarding vans. The word denotes etymologically an ‘advance guard’. It is short for the long defunct avantgard, which was borrowed from Old French avant-garde, a compound formed from avant ‘in front’ and garde ‘guard’. (Its modern French descendant was reborrowed into English as avant-garde [20].)=> avant-garde, guard
- vanguard (n.)
- mid-15c., vaunt garde, from Middle French avant-garde, from avant "in front" (see avant) + garde "guard" (see guard (n.)). Communist revolutionary sense is recorded from 1928.
Example
- 1. Though proteus is in the vanguard , it has rivals .
- 2. With french banks in the vanguard , they are offloading dollar-denominated assets .
- 3. Such bans remain rare but are increasing , with california in the vanguard .
- 4. He founded the mutually owned vanguard group in 1974 , with a remorseless focus on keeping costs down .
- 5. Likewise , congolese tutsi businessmen serve as a rwandan vanguard , opening up eastern congolese land for cattle grazing and mining .