quondam

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 5, 2021 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>quondam</strong> &#149; \KWAHN-dum\&nbsp; &#149; <em>adjective</em><br /> <p><strong>:</strong> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/former">former</a>, <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sometime">sometime</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>Many people were surprised to learn that the <em>quondam</em> poet and professor had since become an accountant.</p> <p>"It was in that spirit that Vladimir Putin, the <em>quondam</em> KGB man who rules Russia, addressed his nation and the world Tuesday on the annexation of Crimea." — <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/charles-lane-putins-warped-reality/2014/03/19/ce81fd58-af79-11e3-9627-c65021d6d572_story.html">Charles Lane, <em>The Washington Post</em>, 18 Mar. 2014</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>Looking for an unusual and creative way to say "former"? <em>Quondam</em> (which came to English in the 16th century from Latin <em>quondam</em>, meaning "at one time" or "formerly") certainly fits the bill. Or maybe you'd prefer one of its synonyms: <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whilom#h2"><em>whilom</em></a>, <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ci-devant"><em>ci-devant</em></a>, or <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/preterit"><em>preterit</em></a>. Or you could really go crazy with <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/umquhile"><em>umquhile</em></a>, a word that is extremely rare even in its more natural Scots English setting. <em>Quondam</em> itself isn't exactly ubiquitous, but it's used more than any of the other words above. If you're looking for something a bit more pedestrian, you might try yet another synonym: <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/erstwhile"><em>erstwhile</em></a