avant-coureur
French edit
Etymology edit
From courir (“to run”) + avant (“in front, before”). Compare English forerunner, precursor.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
avant-coureur m (plural avant-coureurs, feminine avant-coureuse or avant-courrière)
- (dated, literally) messenger, scout (person who runs ahead of the army to deliver news)
- Synonym: éclaireur
- harbinger, precursor, forerunner (thing that foreshadows or foretells the coming of something)
Adjective edit
avant-coureur (feminine avant-coureuse or avant-courrière, masculine plural avant-coureurs, feminine plural avant-coureuses or avant-courrières)
- predictive; that predicts; foreshadowing
- Synonyms: prémonitoire, annonciateur
- signe avant-coureur ― portent, canary in a coal mine
Further reading edit
- “avant-coureur”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.