former

English

Alternative forms

• fmr

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈfɔɹmɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfɔːmə/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)mə(ɹ)

Etymology 1

From Middle English former, comparative of forme (“first”), from Old English forma (“first”). 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

former (not comparable)

1. Previous.

   A former president;  the former East Germany

   • 1893, Walter Besant, The Ivory Gate, chapterIII:

     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.

2. ​ First of aforementioned two items. Used with the, often without a noun.

   The former is a good idea but the latter is not.

Synonyms

• (previous): anterior, erstwhile, previous, prior, quondam, ex-
• See also Wikisaurus:former

Antonyms

• latter

Translations

previous

• Bulgarian: бивш (bg) (bivš), минал (bg) (minal), предишен (bg) (predišen)
• Catalan: previ
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 前 (zh) (qián)

• Czech: bývalý m (such that it used to be)
• Dutch: voormalig (nl)
• Esperanto: antaŭa
• Faroese: fyrrverandi
• Finnish: edeltävä (fi), edellinen (fi), entinen (fi)
• French: précédent (fr), ancien (fr)
• Georgian: წინანდელი (cinandeli), უწინდელი (ucindeli)
• German: ehemalig; vorig, früher
• Greek: πρώην (el) (próin)
• Hungarian: előző (hu), előbbi (hu), korábbi (hu), egykori (hu), hajdani (hu)
• Indonesian: mantan (id)
• Italian: precedente (it), anteriore (it), ex (it)

• Japanese: 前 (ja) (まえ, mae)
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: به‌رتر, پێشو

• Latin: anterior
• Pashto: پخوانی (ps) (pëxwânay)
• Persian: سابق (fa) (sâbeq), قدیم (fa) (qadim), اسبق (fa) (asbaq)
• Polish: były (pl)
• Portuguese: anterior (pt)
• Russian: предыдущий (ru) (predydúščij), бывший (ru) (bývšij), прежний (ru) (préžnij)
• Serbo-Croatian: prethodni (sh), bivši (sh)
• Spanish: anterior (es), antiguo (es)
• Swedish: före detta, forna (sv)
• Telugu: ముందరి (te) (muṃdari), మునుపటి (te) (munupaṭi)
• Turkish: önce (tr), önceki (tr), eski (tr)

first of aforementioned two items

• Bulgarian: предишен (bg) (predišen)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 前者 (zh) (qiánzhě)

• Dutch: deze (nl), eerstgenoemde
• Finnish: ensimmäinen (fi)
• French: premier (fr), celui-là (fr)
• German: ersterer (de) m
• Hungarian: előbbi (hu)
• Indonesian: terdahulu (id)
• Italian: primo (it) m

• Japanese: 前者 (ぜんしゃ, zensha)
• Korean: 전자 (ko) (jeonja)
• Persian: اولی (fa) (avvali)
• Polish: pierwszy (z dwóch)
• Portuguese: primeiro (pt)
• Russian: первый (ru) (pérvyj)
• Spanish: primero (es) m, primera (es) f, aquello (es), aquella (es)
• Swedish: föregående (sv)
• Turkish: ilk (tr)

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

• Vietnamese: trước, cũ, xưa, nguyên

Etymology 2

Noun

former (plural formers)

1. Someone who forms something; a maker; a creator or founder.

   Dave was the former of the company.

2. An object used to form something, such as a template, gauge, or cutting die.

   The brick arch was built using a wooden former.

3. (chiefly UK, used in combinations) Someone in, or of, a certain form (class).

   Fifth-former

   Sixth-former.

Derived terms

• pan former

Statistics

• Most common English words before 1923: minutes · appear · thoughts · #661: former · twenty · lips · donations

Anagrams

• reform

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Danish

Noun

former c

1. plural indefinite of form

Verb

former

1. present tense of forme

Verb

former or formér

1. imperative of formere

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French

Etymology

Latin formō (“I form”)

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Verb

former

1. to form (generic sense)
2. to shape (to make into a certain shape)
3. to train; to educate

Conjugation

   Conjugation of former (see also Appendix:French verbs)

		simple			compound
infinitive		former			avoir formé
gerund		en formant			en ayant formé
present participle		formant
past participle		formé
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il	nous	vous	ils
simple tenses	present	forme	formes	forme	formons	formez	forment
	imperfect	formais	formais	formait	formions	formiez	formaient
	past historic1	formai	formas	forma	formâmes	formâtes	formèrent
	future	formerai	formeras	formera	formerons	formerez	formeront
	conditional	formerais	formerais	formerait	formerions	formeriez	formeraient
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	formes	forme	formions	formiez	forment
	imperfect1	formasse	formasses	formât	formassions	formassiez	formassent
compound tenses	past	Use the present subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle
	pluperfect1	Use the imperfect subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
		—	forme	—	formons	formez	—
1literary tenses

Related terms

• formation
• forme

External links

• “former” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

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Latin

Verb

former

1. first-person singular present passive subjunctive of formō

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Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

former m, f

1. indefinite plural of form

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

former f

1. indefinite plural of form

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Swedish

Noun

former

1. indefinite plural of form