former: [12] Former is a comparative form based on Middle English forme ‘first (in time or order)’, on the analogy of the superlative foremost [16] (which was originally formost [12]; the modern spelling came about through association with fore and most). Forme itself goes back to Old English forma, which was a descendant of a prehistoric Germanic superlative from derived from *fora ‘before’ (whence also English first, for, and fore). So untangling the suffixal accretions of centuries, former means etymologically ‘more most before’. => first, for, fore, primary