avant-coureur

== French == === Etymology === From courir (“to run”) + avant (“in front, before”). Compare English forerunner, precursor. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /a.vɑ̃.ku.ʁœʁ/ === Noun === 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 === 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 === “avant-coureur”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012