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au cours de

during

During / In the course of: This prepositional phrase is used to indicate that an action or event takes place within a specific duration or period of time.
Throughout: It can also imply that something happens during the entirety of a specified period.

Grammar: It is a locution prépositive (prepositional phrase). It must always be followed by a noun or a noun phrase (e.g., au cours de la réunion - during the meeting).
Word origin:
- Au is a contraction of the preposition à (at/in) and the article le (the).
- Cours comes from the Latin cursus, meaning "a running" or "a course/flow."
- De is a preposition meaning "of."
- Together, it literally translates to "at the course of," referring to the flow of time.

Synonyms:
- Pendant (during)
- Durant (during)
- Au fil de (in the course of / over time)
- À travers (throughout - in a temporal sense)
Antonyms:
- Hors de (outside of / out of)
- Avant (before - referring to time outside the duration)
- Après (after - referring to time outside the duration)

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