Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1100-1200
Origin: forme 'first' (12-16 centuries), from Old English forma

former

1 adjective
     
for‧mer1 S2 W1 [only before noun]
1 happening or existing before, but not now [↪ present, previous]:
the former Soviet Union
Their farm has been reduced to half its former size.
2 having a particular position in the past [= ex-; ↪ present]:
my former husband
former president Clinton
4

somebody/something's former self

what someone or something was like before they were changed by age, illness, trouble etc:
She seems more like her former self.
be a shadow/ghost of your former self (=be much less confident, healthy, energetic etc than you used to be)
The team's a shadow of its former self.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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