| 词组 | erstwhile, quondam, whilom |
| 释义 | erstwhile, quondam, whilom These three strange-looking words are all adjectives that mean "former." Erstwhile is also an uncommon, and whilom an archaic, adverb meaning "formerly." The adverb erstwhile dates from the 15th century and is still in occasional use today, especially modifying adjectives: • The requirements of modern war have outrun the erstwhile satisfactory formal organization —Vanne-var Bush, Infantry Jour., October 1945 • ... Berryman's erstwhile uncollected essays and reviews and stories —Donald David, N.Y. Times Book Rev., 25 Apr. 1976 The adjective erstwhile has a somewhat mysterious and confused history. It is not mentioned in the OED, and the earliest citation we know of appears in the OED Supplement and is dated 1901; yet, Webster 1909 and Webster's Second (1934) mistakenly label it archaic. Whatever its past, erstwhile now is widely used as an adjective: • ... one of its erstwhile allies —Arnold Wolfers, Yale Rev., Summer 1954 • ... his erstwhile colleague's [paper]... on industrial policies and growth —Times Literary Supp., 27 Aug. 1971 • ... George Harrison of the erstwhile Beatles — Faubion Bowers, Atlantic, February 1972 • ... all those erstwhile budget-stretchers such as fish, liver, heart, and stew meat —Jennie Douglas, Christian Science Monitor, 17 July 1980 • ... started an erstwhile wide receiver ... at quarterback —Paul Zimmerman, Sports Illustrated, 10 Jan. 1983 Though less common than erstwhile, quondam appears in a wide variety of contexts: • ... Randy Turpin, the quondam middleweight champion —The Ring, October 1952 • ... antagonized his quondam collaborator —W. L. Renwick, English Literature 1789-1815, 1963 • ... the vineyards of Corton-Charlemagne—named after their quondam owner, the Emperor Charlemagne —Consumer Reports, November 1971 • A quondam grocery store now displays early prints and maps —Alan L. Otten, Wall Street Jour., 10 June 1981 Whilom gets used occasionally: • ... a handsome whilom golf pro —Tex Maule, Sports Illustrated, 11 Oct. 1965 • ... the whilom seaport that once rivaled Philadelphia —William Least Heat Moon, Blue Highways, 1982 Harper 1985 says that "erstwhile is seldom used except in formal writing and even then it is often misunderstood." While we cannot agree that this is true of erstwhile, we do think it is true of quondam and whilom. If you decide to use one of these last two for reasons of style, you run the risk of confusing or mystifying your readers. Quondam and whilom are not archaic, but they do have an archaic quality that may interfere with their being readily understood or make you look like a striver for clever effects. They do not look like other English adjectives, and they are used so infrequently that they will probably be unfamiliar to many of your readers. If they were used as often as erstwhile, no doubt they would lose their standoffish quality. |
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