vanguard means the leading units at the front of an army or fleet. It carries an Arena rating of 1578, earned across 6 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, vanguard ranks #338 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #368 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #781 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #1,648 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words.
vanguard is pronounced /ˈvanˌɡɑːd/.
Why “vanguard” is a great word
The foremost position in an army or movement, or the people occupying that position. From Anglo-French and Old French avantgarde, from avant ("before") + garde ("guard"), first attested in English in the mid-15th century. Unlike "avant-garde," which now denotes radical artistic innovation, or "rearguard," which describes a defensive or conservative position, vanguard is the principle of forward motion itself. It is the spearpoint breaking the enemy line, the scout’s bootprint in untrodden snow, the first protesters facing the water cannons—the necessary few who bear the brunt of the future simply by arriving there first, their hands still warm from turning the cold handle of the door.
Etymology
Earlier forms included vandgard and (a)vantgard with or without aphetism, derived from Old French avan(t)garde (“before guard”). Doublet of avant-garde and vaward.
noun
- The leading units at the front of an army or fleet.
- The person(s) at the forefront of any group or movement.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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