former
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English[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈfɔɹmɚ/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈfɔːmə/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)mə(ɹ)
Etymology 1[edit]
Inherited from Middle English former, comparative of forme (“first”), from Old English forma (“first”), descended from Proto-Germanic *frumô. Parallel to prior (via Latin), as comparative form from same Proto-Indo-European root. Related to first and fore (thence before), from Proto-Germanic.
Adjective[edit]
former (comparative form only)
- Previous.
- Synonyms: erstwhile, sometime, whilom, wont-to-be; see also Thesaurus:former
- Antonyms: next; see also Thesaurus:subsequent
- A former president; the former East Germany
- 1892, Walter Besant, chapter III, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], OCLC 16832619:
- At half-past nine on this Saturday evening, the parlour of the Salutation Inn, High Holborn, contained most of its customary visitors. […] In former days every tavern of repute kept such a room for its own select circle, a club, or society, of habitués, who met every evening, for a pipe and a cheerful glass.
- 2007, Junius P. Rodriguez, Encyclopedia of Emancipation and Abolition in the Transatlantic World:
- The former-slaves-turned-abolitionists Quobna Ottobah Cugoano and Olaudah Equiano were the chief organizers of the Sons of Africa.
- First of aforementioned two items. Used with the, often without a noun.
- Antonym: latter
- The former is a good idea but the latter is not.
- We have two cars, a red one and a blue one. We won the former on a game show.
Translations[edit]
previous
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first of aforementioned two items
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Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology 2[edit]
Inherited from Middle English formere; synchronically form + -er.
Noun[edit]
former (plural formers)
- Someone who forms something; a maker; a creator or founder.
- Dave was the former of the company.
- An object used to form something, such as a template, gauge, or cutting die.
- The brick arch was built using a wooden former.
- (chiefly Britain, used in combinations) Someone in, or of, a certain form (class).
- Fifth-former.
- Sixth-former.
Derived terms[edit]
Anagrams[edit]
Danish[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
former c
- indefinite plural of form
Etymology 2[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Verb[edit]
former
Etymology 3[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Verb[edit]
former or formér
French[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Old French, borrowed from Latin fōrmō (“to form”).
Pronunciation[edit]
Verb[edit]
former
Conjugation[edit]
Conjugation of former (see also Appendix:French verbs)
infinitive | simple | former | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
present participle or gerund1 | simple | formant /fɔʁ.mɑ̃/ | |||||
compound | ayant + past participle | ||||||
past participle | formé /fɔʁ.me/ | ||||||
singular | plural | ||||||
first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
(simple tenses) |
present | forme /fɔʁm/ |
formes /fɔʁm/ |
forme /fɔʁm/ |
formons /fɔʁ.mɔ̃/ |
formez /fɔʁ.me/ |
forment /fɔʁm/ |
imperfect | formais /fɔʁ.mɛ/ |
formais /fɔʁ.mɛ/ |
formait /fɔʁ.mɛ/ |
formions /fɔʁ.mjɔ̃/ |
formiez /fɔʁ.mje/ |
formaient /fɔʁ.mɛ/ | |
past historic2 | formai /fɔʁ.me/ |
formas /fɔʁ.ma/ |
forma /fɔʁ.ma/ |
formâmes /fɔʁ.mam/ |
formâtes /fɔʁ.mat/ |
formèrent /fɔʁ.mɛʁ/ | |
future | formerai /fɔʁ.mə.ʁe/ |
formeras /fɔʁ.mə.ʁa/ |
formera /fɔʁ.mə.ʁa/ |
formerons /fɔʁ.mə.ʁɔ̃/ |
formerez /fɔʁ.mə.ʁe/ |
formeront /fɔʁ.mə.ʁɔ̃/ | |
conditional | formerais /fɔʁ.mə.ʁɛ/ |
formerais /fɔʁ.mə.ʁɛ/ |
formerait /fɔʁ.mə.ʁɛ/ |
formerions /fɔʁ.mə.ʁjɔ̃/ |
formeriez /fɔʁ.mə.ʁje/ |
formeraient /fɔʁ.mə.ʁɛ/ | |
(compound tenses) |
present perfect | present indicative of avoir + past participle | |||||
pluperfect | imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle | ||||||
past anterior2 | past historic of avoir + past participle | ||||||
future perfect | future of avoir + past participle | ||||||
conditional perfect | conditional of avoir + past participle | ||||||
subjunctive | que je (j’) | que tu | qu’il, qu’elle | que nous | que vous | qu’ils, qu’elles | |
(simple tenses) |
present | forme /fɔʁm/ |
formes /fɔʁm/ |
forme /fɔʁm/ |
formions /fɔʁ.mjɔ̃/ |
formiez /fɔʁ.mje/ |
forment /fɔʁm/ |
imperfect2 | formasse /fɔʁ.mas/ |
formasses /fɔʁ.mas/ |
formât /fɔʁ.ma/ |
formassions /fɔʁ.ma.sjɔ̃/ |
formassiez /fɔʁ.ma.sje/ |
formassent /fɔʁ.mas/ | |
(compound tenses) |
past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
pluperfect2 | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
imperative | – | – | – | ||||
simple | — | forme /fɔʁm/ |
— | formons /fɔʁ.mɔ̃/ |
formez /fɔʁ.me/ |
— | |
compound | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | |
1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en. | |||||||
2 In less formal writing or speech, the past historic, past anterior, imperfect subjunctive and pluperfect subjunctive tenses may be found to have been replaced with the indicative present perfect, indicative pluperfect, present subjunctive and past subjunctive tenses respectively (Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81). |
Related terms[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- “former”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Latin[edit]
Verb[edit]
fōrmer
Norwegian Bokmål[edit]
Noun[edit]
former m or f
- indefinite plural of form
Verb[edit]
former
Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]
Noun[edit]
former f
- indefinite plural of form
Swedish[edit]
Noun[edit]
former
- indefinite plural of form.
Anagrams[edit]
Categories:
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɔː(ɹ)mə(ɹ)
- Rhymes:English/ɔː(ɹ)mə(ɹ)/2 syllables
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English comparative-only adjectives
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- English words suffixed with -er (agent noun)
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- British English
- Danish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Danish non-lemma forms
- Danish noun forms
- Danish verb forms
- French terms inherited from Old French
- French terms derived from Old French
- French terms derived from Latin
- French 2-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French terms with audio links
- French lemmas
- French verbs
- French verbs with conjugation -er
- French first group verbs
- Latin non-lemma forms
- Latin verb forms
- Norwegian Bokmål non-lemma forms
- Norwegian Bokmål noun forms
- Norwegian Bokmål verb forms
- Norwegian Nynorsk non-lemma forms
- Norwegian Nynorsk noun forms
- Swedish non-lemma forms
- Swedish noun forms