vanguard
UK /ˈvanˌɡɑːd/ · US /ˈvænˌɡɑɹd/ noun
Forms vanguards vantguard
- noun (military) The leading units at the front of an army or fleet.
- noun (by extension) The person or people at the forefront of a group or movement.
Synonyms
advance guard avant avant-garde van vaward remnant new wave forefront cutting edge
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English vandgard, vaunte garde, vaunt garde, wantgard, from advaunte-garde, avauntgard with aphesis, from Old French avangarde, avant-garde, avantgarde, from avant (“before; in front”) + garde (“guard”). Doublet of avant-garde and vaward.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [For vantguard, avantguard, F. avant-garde; avant before, fore + garde guard. See Avant, Ab-,Ante-, and Guard, and cf. Advance, Vamp, Van of an army, Vaward.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “vanguard”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details