en passant

[ ahn pa-sahnt; French ahnpah-sahn ]

adverb
  1. (italics)French. in passing; by the way.

  2. Chess. (used when a pawn that has moved two squares is captured by an opponent's pawn commanding the square that was passed.)

Origin of en passant

1
First recorded in 1655–65

Words Nearby en passant

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How to use en passant in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for en passant

en passant

/ (ɒn pæˈsɑːnt, French ɑ̃ pasɑ̃) /


adverb
  1. in passing: in chess, said of capturing a pawn that has made an initial move of two squares to its fourth rank, bypassing the square where an enemy pawn on its own fifth rank could capture it. The capture is made as if the captured pawn had moved one square instead of two

Origin of en passant

1
C17: from French

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