Erstwhile Meaning
/ˈɜː(ɹ)st.waɪl/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
advFormerly; in the past.
adjFormer, previous.
Sentence Examples
My erstwhile colleague kept me up-to-date with the company gossip.
The erstwhile lovers chatted and caught up.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ CEO returned to the company after a decade to offer his advice.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He met with his ____ business partner to discuss a potential new collaboration.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree English erst English while English erstwhile From erst (“first, formerly”) + while.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"“Scarcely had Alice reached her twentieth birthday, than she gave her erstwhile fiancée^([sic]) his formal congé.[…]”"
— 1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Disappearance of Count Collini”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:
"As an aftermath of the erstwhile competition between companies, 41 goods depots served the Liverpool and Birkenhead docks in 1923."
— 1964 November, P. F. Winding, “Re-shaping the LMR's North Western Line - 2”, in Modern Railways, page 343:
"Other erstwhile stalwarts are also wavering. Southampton had two of the best full-backs in the league last season but Ryan Bertrand has been below par this season and Cédric Soares made an uncharacteristic lapse that led to Stoke’s winning goal in Southampton’s last outing."
— 2017 October 14, Paul Doyle, “Mauricio Pellegrino yet to find attacking solution for stuttering Southampton”, in the Guardian:
"If you're for one of my erstwhile opponents, that's O.K. Just don't work too hard."
— 1999 November 1, Frank Bruni, quoting George W. Bush, “For Bush, an Adjustable Speech Of Tested Themes and Phrases”, in New York Times:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ CEO returned to the company after a decade to offer his advice.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He met with his ____ business partner to discuss a potential new collaboration.