Etymograph

English

former

Former comes from Middle English forme ‘first’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *pr- ‘before, formerly’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pr-1‘before’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*frumô2reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150forma2‘first’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500forme2‘first’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500former2comparative of forme
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1892former2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *frumô
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English former
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1892, Walter Besant, New York: “At half-past nine on this Saturday evening, the parlour…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pr-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *frumô‘before’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*frumôWiktionary, English formerreconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150formaWiktionary, English former‘first’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500formeWiktionary, English former‘first’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500formerWiktionary, English formercomparative of forme
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1892formerWiktionary, English former. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1892, Walter Besant, New York: “At half-past nine on this Saturday evening, the parlour…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with former, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *pr- ‘before, formerly’

  • foremost ← formest ← *frumistaz
  • veneer ← Furnier ← furnieren ← fournir ← fornir

through Proto-Germanic *frumô

  • frum ← פֿרום ← vrume ← fruma

2 more relatives in the full family tree

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Another origin of former

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500formere
  2. Englishtodayformer

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Today it means

adj Previous.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “former”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Germanic *frumô. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pr- / former