en passant
[ ahn pa-sahnt; French ahn pah-sahn ]
/ ˌɑn pæˈsɑnt; French ɑ̃ pɑˈsɑ̃ /
adverb
(italics) French. in passing; by the way.
Chess. (used when a pawn that has moved two squares is captured by an opponent's pawn commanding the square that was passed.)
Nearby words
en famille, en fête, en garde, en masse, en papillote, en passant, en pension, en plein, en plein air, en prise, en quad
Origin of en passant
First recorded in 1655–65
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for en passant
en passant
/ (ɒn pæˈsɑːnt, French ɑ̃ pasɑ̃) /
adverb
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
Word Origin for en passant
C17: from French
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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