English

Adverb

erstwhile ‎(not comparable)

1. Formerly; in the past.

Synonyms

• erewhile

Translations

Adjective

erstwhile ‎(not comparable)

1. (literary, law) Former, previous.
   • 1905, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, chapter 2, in The Disappearance of Count Collini:

     “Scarcely had Alice reached her twentieth birthday, than she gave her erstwhile fiancée [sic] his formal congé. […]”

2. (proscribed) Respected, honourable.
   • 1999 November 1, Frank Bruni, quoting George W. Bush, “For Bush, an Adjustable Speech Of Tested Themes and Phrases”, in New York Times:

     If you're for one of my erstwhile opponents, that's O.K. Just don't work too hard.

Usage notes

The use of erstwhile to mean "respected" stems from a conflation with esteemed in phrases such as erstwhile colleague, and is proscribed by most authorities.^[1][2]

Synonyms

• (former, previous): former, once, previous, quondam, onetime
• See also Wikisaurus:former

Translations

References

1. ↑ 2005, May 21, Ruth Wajnryb, Erstwhile errors in do-it-yourself English, Sydney Morning Herald.
2. ↑ 2003, July 4, Jed Hartman, Words easily confused #7