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form·er¹

(fôrmər)

1. One that forms; a maker or creator: a former of ideas.

2. A member of a school form: a fifth former.

for·mer²

(fôrmər)

adj.

1. Relating to or taking place in the past: in former times.

2. Having been so in the past: a former ambassador; his former boss.

3. Being the first of two mentioned.

The first of two persons or things mentioned: "The army was pulling itself together, the government was coming apart. The success of the former was continually imperiled by the failure of the latter" (Garry Wills).

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

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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