The Avant-garde
Etymology
French for “advance guard,” the vanguard of an army (“avant,” before, plus “garde,” guard). The military term was borrowed into art criticism in the 19th century to cast innovators as the front-line troops of culture, scouting ahead of everyone else. The French spelling and the cultural meaning have stuck together ever since.
noun · /ah-vahnt-GARD/
Artists and ideas that are radically experimental and ahead of their time, pushing past accepted boundaries.
What it names
The cutting edge of culture — the small group scouting territory the mainstream will only reach years later, if at all.
Example
The gallery built its reputation on the avant-garde before those artists were fashionable.
Related idea
It is the artistic twin of vanguard, the same word in its original military and political sense — avant-garde keeps the French form and the cultural meaning.