en passant

• Expression française utilisée aux échecs signifiant « au passage » ; elle désigne une prise spéciale par un pion, qui capture un pion adverse venant d’avancer de deux cases comme s’il n’en avait avancé que d’une.

A French phrase used in chess meaning 'in passing', referring to a special pawn capture where a pawn captures an opponent's pawn that has just moved two squares forward as if it had only moved one square.

1. Chess moveC1formal

   A special pawn capture in chess where a pawn captures an opponent's pawn that has just moved two squares forward from its starting position, as if it had only moved one square.

   prise en passant

   • He captured my pawn en passant, which I had forgotten was possible.
   • The en passant rule is often confusing for beginners.
   • She used en passant to gain a positional advantage.

2. C2formal

   A French phrase meaning 'in passing', used to refer to something mentioned briefly or casually.

   en passant

   • He mentioned en passant that he might be moving to Paris.
   • The author noted en passant the historical context of the event.
   • She referred to the issue en passant during her speech.