[fawr-mer] 
| 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. |
| form·er 1 (fôr'mər) n.
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| for·mer 2 (fôr'mər) adj.
[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. |
mər
