ci-devant

Etymology

Borrowed from French ci-devant.

Adjective

ci-devant (not comparable)

1. Former, late; formerly.
   • 1952, Isaac Asimov, Foundation and Empire (1974 Panther Books Ltd publication), part I: “The General”, chapter 1: ‘Search for Magicians’, page 10, ¶ 4

     The old patrician retreated noiselessly with a slow bow that was part of the ceremonious legacy left by a ci-devant aristocracy of the last century’s better days.

   • 2006, Marsha Keith Schuchard, Why Mrs Blake Cried, Pimlico 2007, p. 157:

     During art collecting tours in Italy, Townley worked with the eccentric scholar Baron d'Hancarville (ci-devant Pierre Françoise Hughes), a specialist in pornographic art […]

Anagrams

• Vedantic

Adjective

ci-devant

1. formerly
2. one-time

Noun

ci-devant m, f (plural ci-devant)

1. (historical, French Revolution) former aristocrat

Further reading

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