formern.1
/ˈfɔːmə/, U.S. /ˈfɔrmər/ 1.
a. One who forms or gives form to something; a maker, creator, fashioner, framer.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > [noun] > creator
forgerc1380
authora1382
feigner1382
formerc1386
founderc1390
makera1450
plasmatoura1500
constitutor1531
framer1534
creator1548
fashioner1548
opificer1548
essentiator1561
creatress1590
effecter1591
compactor1593
moulder1594
creatrix1595
mouldress1599
effector1635
composer1644
plastic1644
opifex1649
fabricator1650
formator1656
efformer1662
essentializer1669
constituenta1676
crafter1907
c1386 G. Chaucer Doctor's Tale 19 He that is the former principal Hath maked me his vicaire general, To forme and peynten erthely creaturis Right as me list.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 24411 Þe elementis þen mirkenid alle quen þai sagh þaire fourme falle.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (1839) Prol. 2 He that was formyour of alle the World.
1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Brycke former or maker.
1610 J. Healey tr. St. Augustine Citie of God xii. xxvi. 467 Porphiry..affirmeth directly that these gods..are but the forgers of our prisons, and not our formers, but only our iaylors.
1678 R. Cudworth tr. Seneca in True Intellect. Syst. Universe i. iv. 440 The Framer and Former of the Universe.
a1711 T. Ken Christophil in Wks. (1721) I. 456 Thou in the New Creation art The Former of the Heart.
1841 I. D'Israeli Amenities Lit. I. 162 The first former of the vernacular literature of Italy.
1891 Bookseller July 647/2 The writer does not concern himself with education as a former of character.
b. One who attends to the ‘forming’ of accumulator plates.
ΚΠ
1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) § 302 Storage battery former.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > teaching > teacher > [noun]
larewc900
mastereOE
lorthewc1160
lore-fatherc1175
lerera1340
lister1377
loresman1377
doctora1382
learner1382
teacherc1384
readera1387
lore-mastera1400
former1401
informer?c1422
preceptorc1450
instructora1464
informator1483
doctrinal?1504
lear-father1533
usher1533
instructer1534
trainer1543
educator1609
instituter1670
institutorc1675
subpreceptor1696
Barbe1710
pundit1816
umfundisi1825
preception1882
guru1884
mwalimu1884
rabbi1917
1401 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 42 Iak Uplond..thourȝ formyng of his formere thus freyneth a frere.
1401 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 43 Jak, thi formur is a fole, that thus thee hath yfourmed, to make so lewid an argument.
3.
a. Applied to various instruments or tools used in forming articles (see quots.).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > equipment for marking out work > [noun] > templates
mitre box1678
temple1688
profile1751
curb1792
rod1793
template1819
turning-piece1823
mitring box1845
mitre block1846
former1847
sweep1885
1847 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words I Former..also an instrument for holding different pieces of a table together.
1874 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Former, a templet, pattern, or gage by which an article is shaped, as pottery or an object in the lathe. A cutter by which patterns, blanks, wads or pieces are cut from sheets for various purposes.
1884 F. J. Britten Watch & Clockmakers' Handbk. (new ed.) 129 For polishing, formers of brass to begin... For soft stones the formers are of lead.
1888 Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin. Former or Copy, the templet used for the cutting of wheel teeth, and other works in copying machines.
b. Gunnery, etc. (See quot. 1867.)
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > equipment for use with firearms > [noun] > tool for shaping ammunition cases
former1644
1644 H. Mainwaring Sea-mans Dict. A Former is a peece of wood, turned round, somewhat lesse then the bore of the Peece for which it is made..The use whereof, is to make upon it Paper Carthrages or Linnen Carthrages.
1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. v. 86 Dip an Inch of the Case in Water, the Formor in him.
1794 Ld. Nelson Let. 9 July in Dispatches & Lett. (1844) I. 430 The Victory has a Former for twenty-six pounders.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Former, a small cylindrical piece of wood on which musket or pistol cartridge-cases are rolled and formed. The name is also applied to the flat piece of wood with a hole in the centre used for making wads, but which is properly form.
1873 E. Spon Workshop Receipts 1st Ser. 124 To roll up the cases [of rockets] you must have a smooth round ruler, or, as it is called, a former.
c. (See quot. 1802.)
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > implements used in styling the hair > [noun] > scissors > used by military
former1802
1802 C. James New Mil. Dict. Formers were likewise used among officers and soldiers to reduce their clubs [club n. 6] to a uniform shape, before the general introduction of tails.
d. A frame or core about which a coil (coil n.3 4b) is wound.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical engineering > armature > [noun] > core or frame of
bobbin1866
former1891
1891 J. W. Urquhart Dynamo Constr. v. 76 The first matter to attend to in winding the bobbins is to ensure that there shall be no possibility of metallic contact between the wire and..the metal of the reel or former.
1910 Encycl. Brit. VIII. 772/1 The coils are either wound by hand directly on to the armature core, or are shaped on formers prior to being inserted in the armature slots.
1943 Electronic Engin. 16 80/2 A high quality ceramic coil former..for aerial coupling coils.
e. Aeronautics. A transverse member that strengthens and gives shape to a wing or fuselage.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > parts of aircraft > [noun] > structural framework > specific members of
web1909
frame1911
stringer1918
former1919
1919 H. Shaw Text-bk. Aeronaut. ix. 110 In order to maintain the front portion of the upper surface [of the wing] it is customary to place false ribs or formers from the leading edge to the main spar.
1930 Flight 28 Nov. 1384/2 The fuselage formers or frames..are attached to the longerons by angle-section brackets.
1951 ‘N. Shute’ Round Bend 261 The great empty cabin, floored with duralumin, with bare stringers and formers supporting the outer skin of the walls.
1966 D. Stinton Anat. Aeroplane 203 The skin is usually formed of metal sheets riveted, or spot-welded, to metal frames, formers and bulkheads.
4. former-wound adj. of an armature coil, wound on a former before being mounted.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical engineering > armature > [adjective] > type of
shunt-wound1883
flat-ring1884
bar-wound1902
former-wound1902
slot-wound1931
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXVII. 583/2 The former-wound coils have the advantage that they are perfectly symmetrical and interchangeable.
1906 A. Russell Treat. Theory Alternating Currents II. 328 The winding of the stator of a polyphase motor is simple. It may be made up of rectangular former-wound coils, that is, coils which are wound into shape on a rectangular wooden block before being fixed on the stator.
1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 76/1 Bar-wound armature, an armature with large sectioned conductors which are insulated and fixed in position and connected, in contrast with former-wound conductors which are sufficiently thin to be inserted, after shaping in a suitable jig.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† formern.2
Obsolete.
A kind of chisel or gouge, used by carpenters and masons (see quot. 16881; the description may have been influenced by false etymology).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > cutting tool > chisel > [noun] > for cutting wood
gouge1495
former1530
ripping-chisel1659
firming chisel1799
framing chisel1829
slick1875
turning-chisel1877
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 222/1 Formour or grublyng yron.
1553 T. Wilson Arte of Rhetorique 83 The mason [hath] his former, and his plaine.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. viii. §135 The second is termed a Former, it is a Chissel used before the Paring Chissel in all works.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. ix. §142 The Clenser, or Former, is a broad ended Iron Plate, or Old [? Cold] Chessel, with a broad bottom, set in an Handle; with which Tool they smooth and make even the Stone after it is cut into that form and Order, as the Work-man will have it.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Chissel The Chissels us'd in Carpentry and Joinery, are, 1. The Former, which is us'd first of all before the Paring-Chissel, and just after the Work is scrib'd.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
formeradj.
/ˈfɔːmə/, U.S. /ˈfɔrmər/ 1. † b. followed by than. Obsolete. rare.† c. In Middle English it sometimes took the place of the earlier forme adj.1, first, primeval, as in former father, former days; with similar sense the former age (Chaucer).
a. Earlier in time. Now chiefly in the more specific sense: Pertaining to the past, or to a period or occasion anterior to that in question.The sense ‘the earlier of two’ (in strictly temporal application) is obsolete or archaic except with reference to the halves of a period of time.
ΘΠ
the world > time > relative time > the past > [adjective]
formerc1160
apassedc1314
past1340
preterite1340
eldera1400
elderna1400
eldernlya1400
bygone1424
bypast1452
ancient1490
by-runa1522
bywenta1522
spent1528
departed1552
forepassed1557
preter1578
by-come1592
worn-out1594
preterlapsed1599
foregone1609
worna1616
elapseda1644
lapsed1702
surpassed1725
gone-by1758
back1808
old-time1865
by-flown1884
the world > time > relative time > the past > antecedence or being earlier > [adjective]
ererc888
fernOE
oldOE
oldOE
formerc1160
ratherc1330
before-goingc1384
formerc1384
forenexta1400
formea1400
while1399
antecedentc1400
precedentc1400
anteceding?a1425
late1446
whilom1452
preceding?a1475
forne1485
fore1490
heretofore1491
foregoing1530
toforegoing1532
further1557
firster1571
then1584
elder1594
quondam1598
forehand1600
previant1601
preallable1603
prior1607
anterior1608
previal1613
once1620
previous1621
predecessivea1627
antecedaneous?1631
preventive1641
prior1641
precedaneous1645
preventional1649
antegredient1652
senior1655
prevenient1656
precedential1661
antecedental1763
past-gone1784
antevenient1800
aforetime1835
one-time1850
onewhile1882
foretime1894
erstwhile1903
antecedane-
ere-
c1160 Hatton Gosp. Matt. xxi. 36 Ða sende he eft oðre þeowas selre þanne þa formere [earlier text þa ærran] wæron.
c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 363 Þe pope may..revoke his former errour.
1545 G. Joye Expos. Daniel (viii.) f. 126 As the later waues thruste forthe the former sourges.
1576 A. Fleming tr. Cicero in Panoplie Epist. 104 In my former letters.
1611 Bible (King James) Hosea vi. 3 He shall come vnto vs..as the latter and former raine. View more context for this quotation
1632 J. Story tr. Short Surv. Sweden 73 Having..the next yeare gathered together a farre greater army then the former.
1642 tr. J. Perkins Profitable Bk. vii. §479. 210 The testament..shall stand, notwithstanding that it hath the former date and was written before the other testament.
1676 J. Dryden Aureng-Zebe iv. 49 Trust on, and think to morrow will repay: To morrow's falser than the former day.
1699 W. Dampier Voy. & Descr. i. ix. 177 The former part of the night we had much Rain.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 94. ¶8 With many melancholy Reflections upon his former and his present State of Life.
1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin II. xxvi. 111 Eva appeared more like her former self than ever she had done since her sickness.
1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues I. 169 The admission of that, he replied, would belie our former admissions.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the past > antecedence or being earlier > [adjective]
ererc888
fernOE
oldOE
oldOE
formerc1160
ratherc1330
before-goingc1384
formerc1384
forenexta1400
formea1400
while1399
antecedentc1400
precedentc1400
anteceding?a1425
late1446
whilom1452
preceding?a1475
forne1485
fore1490
heretofore1491
foregoing1530
toforegoing1532
further1557
firster1571
then1584
elder1594
quondam1598
forehand1600
previant1601
preallable1603
prior1607
anterior1608
previal1613
once1620
previous1621
predecessivea1627
antecedaneous?1631
preventive1641
prior1641
precedaneous1645
preventional1649
antegredient1652
senior1655
prevenient1656
precedential1661
antecedental1763
past-gone1784
antevenient1800
aforetime1835
one-time1850
onewhile1882
foretime1894
erstwhile1903
antecedane-
ere-
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) John i. 30 He was the formere than I.
1612 J. Speed Theatre of Empire of Great Brit. iv. i. 138/1 All which shew a former interest for Ireland, then that which by conquest under Henry the second was made.
ΘΠ
the world > time > relative time > the past > oldness or ancientness > [adjective] > primitive or early
earlyOE
formerc1374
primordiala1398
primec1429
primer1448
primitivea1475
pristinate1531
prisk1533
pristine1534
primordiate1599
primigenial1602
primitial1602
primigenie1615
primigenious1620
primigene1623
primogenious1625
primogeniala1631
primevea1640
primogenian1650
pristinary1652
primeval1653
primevous1656
protogeneous1660
primigenous1677
primo-primitive1678
antediluvian1705
priscal1831
archaic1833
primigenian1847
Palaeozoic1863
priscan1870
aboriginary1993
c1374 G. Chaucer Former Age 2 A Blysful lyf..Ledden the peoples in the former age.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 9156 He was þe first..þat ded men raysed in former dais [Vesp. in form dais].
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 5464 He [sc. Jacob]..to his former fadris ferd.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (1839) Prol. 2 The Synne of oure formere Fader Adam.
1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes 126 a/2 From oure formar father Adam to ye laste day.
d. Formerly possessed, occupied, frequented, etc.
ΘΠ
the world > time > relative time > the past > antecedence or being earlier > [adjective] > formerly possessed, occupied, etc.
oldOE
formera1425
a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Judges xvi. 28 Ȝelde thou now to me the formere strengthe, that Y venge me of myn enemyes.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) v. iii. 203 Out of that Ile worke My selfe a former Fortune. View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 100 In Peace t' enjoy his former Palms and Pains. View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv., in tr. Virgil Wks. 146 This finish'd, to the former Woods repair. View more context for this quotation
e. Used to designate a former holder of an office; = British ex-. U.S.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the past > antecedence or being earlier > [adjective] > former (of persons)
umquhile1431
old1435
quondam1547
ancient1681
ci-devant1790
ex1823
former1905
past1915
1905 N.Y. Herald 5 Feb. 47 Former President Cleveland is among the arrivals of the week at the Lakewood Hotel.
1919 H. L. Mencken Amer. Lang. iv. 118 Such clumsy quasi-titles as ex-United States Senator,..and former Chief of the Fire Department.
1948 Minneapolis Morning Tribune 28 Sept. 1/6 Sen. George Wilson, threatened by Democratic former Sen. Guy M. Gillette, was frankly warned by Dewey's advisers to intensify his campaign.
1970 Encycl. Brit. XXII. 650/1 President Hayes..appointed former Senator David M. Key..to his cabinet.
2. With reference to order. the former (often absol., with ellipsis of the noun):† c. Spoken of before, aforesaid. Obsolete.
a. The first of two. †Also, the (immediately) preceding; and occasionally in connection with a cardinal numeral = first adj. 3b.
ΘΠ
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > preceding or following in order > [adjective] > preceding in order > first in order > of two
farther1534
firster1571
former1588
foremore1801
1588 A. King tr. P. Canisius Cathechisme or Schort Instr. H iij In ye ȝere besydes ye 52 owkes yair is ane day ode, quhilk makis ye dominical lettre to be changeit euerie ȝere in the formair.
1609 Bible (Douay) I. 2 Kings Comm. In the seventene former chapters, are recorded [etc.]..The other eight chapters conteine other thinges donne in Juda.
1703 W. Burkitt Expos. Notes New Test. Mark iii. 4 The former part of this Chapter reports to us a miraculous Cure.
1795 L. Murray Eng. Gram. 148 Of dissyllables, formed by affixing a termination, the former syllable is commonly accented.
b. The first mentioned of two; opposed to latter.A use apparently of late introduction, but now so prominent that the other uses have become restricted to contexts in which the word could not be misinterpreted in this sense.
ΘΠ
the mind > language > speech > [adjective] > commenting or mentioning > former or latter
latterc1225
former1597
1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. iv. 9 Of the former kinde are all manner vertuous duties.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) iii. xiii. 80 Wisedome and Fortune combatting together, If that the former dare but what it can, No chance may shake it. View more context for this quotation
1674 A. Cremer tr. J. Scheffer Hist. Lapland 84 Two doors, one, a foredoor, and the other, a backward; the former bigger and more ordinarily used, the latter less.
1717 A. Pope Wks. Pref. A bad Author deserves better usage than a bad Critic; a man may be the former merely thro' the misfortune of an ill judgment, but [etc.].
1789 J. Bentham Introd. Princ. Morals & Legisl. xvii. §6 The latter mode is not less certain than the former.
1841 E. W. Lane tr. Thousand & One Nights I. 76 Therefore, in this work, I call the former ‘a piece of gold’, and the latter ‘a piece of silver’.
1886 A. Winchell Walks & Talks in Geol. Field 180 The former locality..has for many years been a favourite collecting-ground of geologists.
ΘΠ
the mind > language > speech > [adjective] > commenting or mentioning > aforementioned
foresaidc1000
beforesaida1250
before-nameda1325
said1327
same1338
abovesaid1389
aforesaid1389
said1397
foretolda1400
above-written1413
y-aforsayde1422
rememberedc1425
toforesaid1444
aforenamedc1460
fore-mindeda1475
forenamed1490
forn-said1509
prenominatea1513
above?1515
above-named1525
premised?c1525
before-mentioned1534
aforementioned1539
predicted1546
prenominated1547
above-mentioned1550
before-told1556
above-cited1575
forementioned1587
supranominated1599
before-delivered1606
former1607
prementioned1620
precited1638
before-noticed1703
oversaid1840
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 18 She presently threwe downe herselfe from the former rocke, and so she ended.
ΘΠ
the world > space > relative position > front > [adjective]
furtherc1000
foremostc1275
formerc1384
farther1398
fornec1440
fore?a1513
forme1523
anterior1611
first1647
head1691
vanward1820
leading1825
forwardmost1834
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 2 Macc. iii. 25 He with fersnesse..rushide the former feet to Heliodore.
a1400 Octouian 1040 Two bole~axys..In hys former arsun were y-honge.
1544 Bk. Chyldren in T. Phaer tr. J. Goeurot Regiment of Lyfe (new ed.) sig. e.i Applye it to the former parte of the head.
1558 Will of R. Fetlawe (Somerset Ho.) Rynge that I weare upon my former fynger.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) v. i. 79 Comming from Sardis, on our former Ensigne Two mighty Eagles fell, and there they pearch'd. View more context for this quotation
c1625 in J. Raine Descr. Anc. Monuments Church of Durham (1842) 17 In the former part of the Quire.
1668 N. Culpeper & A. Cole tr. T. Bartholin Anat. (new ed.) i. iv. 7 In the former part of a Mans Neck.
1678 tr. L. de Gaya Art of War ii. 66 To fire in gaining of ground, the Battalion is commanded to advance as fast as the former Ranks discharge.
4. In the absolute or elliptical use, sometimes inflected as a noun.† a. With plural suffix (obsolete rare).
ΚΠ
1548 W. Patten Exped. Scotl. Pref. sig. A iij a We must be content in commune speche to vse the termes of our formers deuised.
1606 W. Warner Continuance Albions Eng. xv. xciii. 374 Pictish Britons did Brittish Reuolts inuaid, Because those Lattres (basely thought those Formers) Rome obaid.
b. With genitive suffix.
Π
1613 T. Jackson Eternall Truth Script. i. 380 The manner..of the formers dissolution.
1796 L. Murray Eng. Gram. (ed. 2) 44 The former's phlegm was a check upon the latter's vivacity.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
> see also
also refers to : -formercomb. form
<
n.1c1386
n.21530
adj.c1160see also
- redescribing
- redescription
- redescriptions
- redesert
- redeserve
- redesign
- redesigned
- redesigning
- redesigns
- redesire
- redesman
- redespatch
- redetermination
- redeterminations
- reductionistically
- reductionists
- reductions
- reductive
- reductively
- reductiveness
- reductivenesses
- reductives
- reductivism
- reductivisms
- reductivist