Former

How to spell former

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce former

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does former mean?

1. adjectiveHaving previously been a particular thing, or belonging to an earlier time.
2. nounThe first of two people or things just mentioned, as opposed to the latter.

Former in a sentence

• adjective

  The company hired a former accountant to review the books.

• noun

  Between tea and coffee she always chooses the former.

• adjective

  In a former life she had worked as a translator in Geneva.

• noun

  Of the two routes, the former is shorter but busier.

Where does former come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Former grew out of Old English, where the comparative 'forma' meant 'first' or 'earliest', itself related to 'fore', meaning 'before' or 'in front'. During the 1100s and 1200s English speakers reshaped this old superlative by attaching the familiar comparative ending -er, producing 'former' to mean 'the earlier of two' or 'previous in time'. The root idea has always been spatial as well as temporal, since what comes first in front also tends to come first in time, which is why 'fore', 'foremost' and 'first' all belong to the same Germanic family. The everyday sense 'belonging to an earlier period' or 'having once held a position' settled firmly into the language by the late Middle Ages. The spelling is regular, but the unstressed second syllable can tempt writers toward 'formor' or 'formar', so it helps to remember the plain agent-style -er ending.

How the word is built

• form (shape, earlier state)
• -er (comparative-style suffix marking 'more toward the front in time')