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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
for·mer1    Audio Help   [fawr-mer] Pronunciation Key
–adjective
1.preceding in time; prior or earlier: during a former stage in the proceedings.
2.past, long past, or ancient: in former times.
3.preceding in order; being the first of two: Our former manufacturing process was too costly.
4.being the first mentioned of two (distinguished from latter): The former suggestion was preferred to the latter.
5.having once, or previously, been; erstwhile: a former president.

[Origin: 1125–75; ME, equiv. to forme (OE forma first) + -er -er4. Cf. foremost]

3. foregoing, antecedent. 5. past, ex-.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Former

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© 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
form·er2    Audio Help   [fawr-mer] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.a person or thing that forms or serves to form.
2.a pupil in a particular form or grade, esp. in a British secondary school: fifth formers.

[Origin: 1300–50; ME fourmer. See form, -er1]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
form·er 1    Audio Help   (fôr'mər)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. One that forms; a maker or creator: a former of ideas.
  2. A member of a school form: a fifth former.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
for·mer 2    Audio Help   (fôr'mər)  Pronunciation Key 
adj.  
    1. Occurring earlier in time.
    2. Of, relating to, or taking place in the past.
  1. Coming before in place or order; foregoing.
  2. Being the first of two mentioned.
  3. Having been in the past: a former ambassador.


[Middle English, comparative of forme, first, from Old English forma; see per1 in Indo-European roots.]

Usage Note: Grammarians have often insisted that the phrases the former and the latter should be used only to refer to the first of two things and the second of two things, respectively, as in Ernest L. Thayer's "Casey at the Bat": "But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake, and the former was a lulu and the latter was a fake." It is easy to find violations of this rule in the works of good writers; nonetheless, many readers feel uneasy when the words are used in enumerations of more than two things, just as they would feel uneasy over the similar incorrect use of a comparative in a sentence such as Her boys are 7, 9, and 13; only the younger was born in California.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
former 
"earlier in time," c.1160, comparative of forme "first," patterned on formest "foremost" (see foremost). An unusual case of a comparative formed from a superlative (the -m- is a superlative element; the word was formed on the analogy of foremost).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
former

adjective
1. referring to the first of two things or persons mentioned (or the earlier one or ones of several); "the novel was made into a film in 1943 and again in 1967; I prefer the former version to the latter one" [ant: latter
2. belonging to some prior time; "erstwhile friend"; "our former glory"; "the once capital of the state"; "her quondam lover" [syn: erstwhile
3. (used especially of persons) of the immediate past; "the former president"; "our late President is still very active"; "the previous occupant of the White House" 
4. belonging to the distant past; "the early inhabitants of Europe"; "former generations"; "in other times" [syn: early

noun
1. the first of two or the first mentioned of two; "Tom and Dick were both heroes but only the former is remembered today" [ant: latter

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
former [ˈfoːmə] adjective
of an earlier time
Example: In former times people did not travel so much.
Arabic: سابِق
Chinese (Simplified): 从前的
Chinese (Traditional): 從前的
Czech: dřívější
Danish: tidligere
Dutch: vroeger
Estonian: endine
Finnish: entinen
French: ancien
German: früher
Greek: πρώην, προηγούμενος
Hungarian: korábbi
Icelandic: fyrri
Indonesian: dulu
Italian: precedente, passato
Japanese: 前の
Korean: 이전의, 옛날의
Latvian: agrākais; bijušais
Lithuanian: ankstyvesnis
Norwegian: tidligere, fordums
Polish: dawny, poprzedni
Portuguese (Brazil): passado
Portuguese (Portugal): passado
Romanian: de altădată
Russian: прежний
Slovak: bývalý
Slovenian: prejšnji
Spanish: antiguo, anterior
Swedish: förgången
Turkish: geçmiş, eski
See also: formerly, the former

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Former

Fore\, adv. [AS. fore, adv. & prep., another form of for. See For, and cf. Former, Foremost.]

1. In the part that precedes or goes first; -- opposed to aft, after, back, behind, etc.

2. Formerly; previously; afore. [Obs. or Colloq.]

The eyes, fore duteous, now converted are. --Shak.

3. (Naut.) In or towards the bows of a ship.

Fore and aft (Naut.), from stem to stern; lengthwise of the vessel; -- in distinction from athwart. --R. H. Dana, Jr.

Fore-and-aft rigged (Naut.), not rigged with square sails attached to yards, but with sails bent to gaffs or set on stays in the midship line of the vessel. See Schooner, Sloop, Cutter.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Former

Fore"most`\, a. [OE. formest first, AS. formest, fyrmest, superl. of forma first, which is a superl. fr. fore fore; cf. Goth. frumist, fruma, first. See Fore, adv., and cf. First, Former, Frame, v. t., Prime, a.] First in time or place; most advanced; chief in rank or dignity; as, the foremost troops of an army.

THat struck the foremost man of all this world. --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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