Link Centre Dictionary

erstwhile

erstw·hile

UK/ˈɜː(ɹ)st.waɪl/ US/ˈɝst.waɪl/ uncommon formal literary
adverb (1) adjective (1)

adverb

1.

at a previous time

  • “once he loved her”
  • “her erstwhile writing”
Synonyms

adjective

1.

belonging to some prior time

  • “erstwhile friend”
  • “our former glory”
  • “the once capital of the state”
  • “her quondam lover”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

From erst (“first, formerly”) + while.

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.