former
English
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈfɔɹmɚ/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈfɔːmə/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)mə(ɹ)
Etymology 1
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
former (not comparable)
- Previous.
- A former president; the former East Germany
- 1892, Walter Besant, chapter III, in The Ivory Gate: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, Franklin Square, 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.
- First of aforementioned two items. Used with the, often without a noun.
- The former is a good idea but the latter is not.
- I drive two vehicles, a Chevy Camaro and an AMC Gremlin. I won the former on a game show.
Synonyms
Antonyms
- (first of aforementioned two items): latter
Translations
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 Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Etymology 2
Noun
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
Anagrams
Danish
Noun
former c
- plural indefinite of form
Verb
former
- present tense of forme
Verb
former or formér
- imperative of formere
French
Etymology
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /fɔʁ.me/
Audio (file)
Verb
former
Conjugation
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/ | |
| 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/ | |
| 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
Further reading
- “former” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Latin
Verb
former
- first-person singular present passive subjunctive of formō
Norwegian Bokmål
Noun
former m, f
- indefinite plural of form
Verb
former
- present tense of forme
Norwegian Nynorsk
Noun
former f
- indefinite plural of form
Swedish
Noun
former
- indefinite plural of form
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