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au courant. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
au courant, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
au courant in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
au courant you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
Borrowed from French au courant (literally “to the current”).
Pronunciation
Adjective
au courant (comparative more au courant, superlative most au courant)
- Up to date; informed about the latest developments; abreast.
1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, The History of Pendennis. , volume I, London: Bradbury and Evans, , published 1849, →OCLC, page 135:Doctor Portman and Smirke were both cautious of informing the widow of the constant outbreak of calumny which was pursuing poor Pen, though Glanders, who was a friend of the house, kept him au courant.
2013 October 23, Meghan O’Rourke, “Watching American Movies in Paris”, in The Atlantic:As Hemingway once noted, Paris is an old city—and so even a 1946 film looks au courant: part of the aesthetic air.
2018 May 2, Catherine Taylor, “Vernon Subutex 1 by Virginie Despentes review – foul-mouthed satire of modern France”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:Its hipness recalls the films of Jean-Jacques Beineix and Leos Carax, making for an intoxicating blend of the retro and au courant.
2023 February 11, Janan Ganesh, “After Germany's fall, which is the paragon nation?”, in FT Weekend, page 22:A paragon from the Global South, as no one I know who lives there calls it, would be very 21st century, very au courant.
2023 March 22, Joseph Bernstein, “Not Your Daddy’s Freud”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:“Know Your Enemy,” an au courant lefty podcast, has devoted multiple episodes to discussions of Freud, who has become a frequent topic of conversation among the show’s hosts.
Synonyms
Translations
French
Pronunciation
Adjective
au courant (invariable)
- up to date, abreast; aware, informed, in the loop
- Synonyms: (informal) au parfum, (informal) au jus
- La mère de Julie est décédée la semaine passée, tu étais au courant ? ― Julie's mother passed away last week – were you aware?
Usage notes
Traditionally invariable, but feminization (as in the expression elle est au courante), though perhaps prescribed, is not unheard-of.
Derived terms