Former : adj. (word from late Latin anteanus, doors " before ").
The adjective “old” has many meanings:
1. Which has existed for a long time, which dates from a much earlier period (antique, old).
A very old (secular) custom.
The Old and the New Testament.
In comparison: This part of the church is older than the rest, dates back to an earlier period.
Specially (after the name): Which was once made and derives its value from it.
Buy an old piece of furniture (antique dealer, bric-a-brac dealer).
Old books, old bindings. By ext. Antiquarian bookstore, where old books are sold.
Noun form: Loving the old, furniture, old works of art.
Adverbial phrase: Old-fashioned: in the old fashioned way. Veal stew old.
2. Before the name: Which is characteristic of the past and no longer exists (archaic, obsolete).
An old model.
The old franc (centime).
A million old: ten thousand francs.
The old regime.
The old days (gone).
Who was once such and is no longer (example: A former minister).
A school alumni association.
A former mistress (colloquial: a former, an ex).
A former lover.
Veterans.
3. Which existed a long time ago (synonyms: ancient, past, immemorial, remote).
Ancient peoples, antiquity. By ext. Ancient history, the history of these peoples.
Colloquialism: It's ancient history: it's in the past.
Noun: The Ancients: the peoples and writers of antiquity.
And especially: The Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns: famous literary quarrel of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
4. Who has a certain age or seniority. He is older than me in the business.
Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger
Noun: He is my elder (eldest, dean).
The elders of the village, of a party.
Seek advice from elders.
The Council of Elders (year III): the Senate.