former
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈfɔɹmɚ/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈfɔːmə/
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Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)mə(ɹ)
Etymology 1[edit]
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 (not comparable)
- Previous.
- A former president; the former East Germany
- 1893, Walter Besant, The Ivory Gate, chapter III:
- 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.
Synonyms[edit]
Antonyms[edit]
Translations[edit]
previous
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first of aforementioned two items
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
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Etymology 2[edit]
Noun[edit]
former (plural formers)
- First of aforementioned two items.
- The former is a good idea but the latter is not.
- I drive two vehicles. The first car is a GMC model and the latter is a Japanese-made vehicle. I won the former on a game show.
- 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]
Statistics[edit]
Most common English words before 1923: minutes · appear · thoughts · #661: former · twenty · lips · donations
Anagrams[edit]
Danish[edit]
Noun[edit]
former c
- plural indefinite of form
Verb[edit]
former
- present tense of forme
Verb[edit]
former or formér
French[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
-
Audio (file)
Verb[edit]
former
Conjugation[edit]
Conjugation of former (see also Appendix:French verbs)
| simple | compound | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| infinitive | former | avoir formé | |||||
| gerund | en formant | en ayant formé | |||||
| present participle | formant /fɔʁ.mɑ̃/ |
||||||
| past participle | formé /fɔʁ.me/ |
||||||
| person | singular | plural | |||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il | nous | vous | ils | |
| 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 historic1 | 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/ |
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| compound tenses |
present perfect | Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| past anterior1 | Use the past historic tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | Use the future tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | Use the conditional tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que je (j’) | que tu | qu’il | que nous | que vous | qu’ils | |
| simple tenses |
present | forme /fɔʁm/ |
formes /fɔʁm/ |
forme /fɔʁm/ |
formions /fɔʁ.mjɔ̃/ |
formiez /fɔʁ.mje/ |
forment /fɔʁm/ |
| imperfect1 | formasse /fɔʁ.mas/ |
formasses /fɔʁ.mas/ |
formât /fɔʁ.ma/ |
formassions /fɔʁ.ma.sjɔ̃/ |
formassiez /fɔʁ.ma.sje/ |
formassent /fɔʁ.mas/ |
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| compound tenses |
past | Use the present subjunctive tense of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| pluperfect1 | Use the imperfect subjunctive tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | tu | – | nous | vous | – | |
| — | forme /fɔʁm/ |
— | formons /fɔʁ.mɔ̃/ |
formez /fɔʁ.me/ |
— | ||
| 1literary tenses | |||||||
Related terms[edit]
External links[edit]
- “former” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Latin[edit]
Verb[edit]
former
Norwegian Bokmål[edit]
Noun[edit]
former m, f
- indefinite plural of form
Verb[edit]
former
- present tense of forme
Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]
Noun[edit]
former f
- indefinite plural of form
Swedish[edit]
Noun[edit]
former
- indefinite plural of form
Categories:
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- English terms derived from Old English
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- Norwegian Nynorsk non-lemma forms
- Norwegian Nynorsk noun forms
- Swedish non-lemma forms
- Swedish noun forms
