What does "avant-courier" mean?

A person dispatched before another person or company, to give notice of his or their approach; a scout or herald.

What is a synonym for "avant-courier"?

Common synonyms include: harbinger, messenger.

Avant-courier

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
A person dispatched before another person or company, to give notice of his or their approach; a scout or herald.
"Mr Farrer reached Calcutta some time before them, announcing himself as the avant-courier of His Majesty's new court, in which he was to be the leading advocate."

Synonyms

All synonyms

harbinger messenger

Example

More examples

"Mr Farrer reached Calcutta some time before them, announcing himself as the avant-courier of His Majesty's new court, in which he was to be the leading advocate."

Etymology

From French avant-coureur, with alteration of second element after courier.

More for "avant-courier"

Synonyms Sentences Pronunciation Translate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonyms See usage examples Check pronunciation Browse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.