au courant

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French au courant (literally “to the current”).

Pronunciation

(UK) IPA^(key): /əʊ kʊˈɹɒn(t)/
(US) IPA^(key): /oʊ kʊɹˈɑnt/
Audio (US): (file)

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^[1]:
  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^[2], →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^[3], →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

au parfum

Translations

informed — see in the loop

French

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /o ku.ʁɑ̃/
- Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -ɑ̃

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