different between ragged vs former

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English ragged, from North Germanic. Compare with Old Norse r?gvaðr (“tufted”) and Norwegian ragget (“shaggy”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: r?g'?d, IPA^(key): /??æ??d/

Adjective

ragged (comparative more ragged, superlative most ragged)

1. In tatters, having the texture broken.

   a ragged coat

   a ragged sail

2. Having rough edges; jagged or uneven

   ragged rocks

3. Harsh-sounding; having an unpleasant noise
   • 1912, David Herbert Lawrence, The Trespasser, Chapter 12

     There was a ragged noise of bleating from the flock penned in a corner of the yard. Two red-armed men seized a sheep, hauled it to a large bath that stood in the middle of the yard, and there held it, more or less in the bath, whilst a third man baled a dirty yellow liquid over its body.

4. Wearing tattered clothes.

   a ragged fellow

5. Rough; shaggy; rugged.
   • 1969, Paul Simon, Simon & Garfunkel, “The Boxer”, Bridge over Troubled Water, Columbia Records:

     Seeking out the poorer quarters
     Where the ragged people go

6. Faulty; lacking in skill, reliability, or organization.
7. (music) performed in a syncopated manner, especially in ragtime.
8. (computing) Of a data structure: having uneven levels.

   a ragged hierarchy

   a ragged array, consisting of a number of arrays of varying size

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

From rag

Pronunciation

• enPR: r?gd, IPA^(key): /?æ?d/

Verb

ragged

1. simple past tense and past participle of rag

Anagrams

• Dagger, dagger, dragge

Middle English

Alternative forms

• raggid, ragget, raggede, raggyd, ragyd, reaggeth, raged, raggit

Etymology

From Old Norse raggaðr; equivalent to and reinforced by ragge +? -ed.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?ra?id/

Adjective

ragged

1. ragged, raggy, raglike
2. shaggy, furry
3. rough, jagged, spiked

Descendants

• English: ragged
• Scots: raggit

References

• “ragged(e, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-02.

English

Alternative forms

• fmr / fmr.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?f??m?/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?f??m?/
• Rhymes: -??(?)m?(?)

Etymology 1

From Middle English former, comparative of forme (“first”), from Old English forma (“first”), descended from Proto-Germanic *frumô. Parallel to prior (via Latin), as comparative form from same Proto-Indo-European root. Related to first and fore (thence before), from Proto-Germanic.

Adjective

former (comparative form only)

1. Previous.

   • At half-past nine on this Saturday evening, the parlour of the Salutation Inn, High Holborn, contained most of its customary visitors. […] In former days every tavern of repute kept such a room for its own select circle, a club, or society, of habitués, who met every evening, for a pipe and a cheerful glass.
3. First of aforementioned two items. Used with the, often without a noun.

Synonyms

• (previous): erstwhile, sometime, whilom, wont-to-be; see also Thesaurus:former

Antonyms

• (previous): next; see also Thesaurus:subsequent
• (first of aforementioned two items): latter

Translations

Etymology 2

form +? -er

Noun

former (plural formers)

1. Someone who forms something; a maker; a creator or founder.

   Dave was the former of the company.

2. An object used to form something, such as a template, gauge, or cutting die.

   The brick arch was built using a wooden former.

3. (chiefly Britain, used in combinations) Someone in, or of, a certain form (class).

   Fifth-former.

   Sixth-former.

Derived terms

• pan former

Anagrams

• Reform, re-form, reform

Danish

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [?f??m?]

Noun

former c

1. indefinite plural of form

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [?f??m?]

Verb

former

1. present of forme

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [f??me???]

Verb

former or formér

1. imperative of formere

French

Etymology

From Old French, borrowed from Latin f?rm? (“to form”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /f??.me/

Verb

former

1. to form (generic sense)
2. to shape (to make into a certain shape)
3. to train; to educate

Conjugation

Related terms

• formation
• forme

Further reading

• “former” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Latin

Verb

f?rmer

1. first-person singular present passive subjunctive of f?rm?

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

former m or f

1. indefinite plural of form

Verb

former

1. present of forme

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

former f

1. indefinite plural of form

Swedish

Noun

former

1. indefinite plural of form

Anagrams

• reform