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en passant

 - 3 dictionary results

en pas⋅sant

  [ahn pa-sahnt; Fr. ahn pah-sahn]
Use en passant in a Sentence
–noun
1. (italics) French. in passing; by the way.
2. Chess. a method by which a pawn that is moved two squares can be captured by an opponent's pawn commanding the square that was passed.
Origin:
1655–65
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To en passant
en pas·sant   (äɴ' pä-säɴ')   
adv.  

  1. In passing; by the way; incidentally.

  2. Used in reference to a move in chess in which a pawn that has just completed an initial advance to its fourth rank is captured by an opponent pawn as if it had only moved to its third rank.


[French : en, in + passant, passing.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

en passant 
1665, from Fr., lit. "in passing." In reference to chess, first attested 1818.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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