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Former vs Pioneer - What's the difference?

former | pioneer |

As nouns the difference between former and pioneer

is that former is someone who forms something; a maker; a creator or founder while pioneer is one who goes before, as into the wilderness, preparing the way for others to follow.

As an adjective former

is previous.

As a verb pioneer is

to go before and prepare or open a way for; to act as pioneer.

former

English

Alternative forms

* (l)

Etymology 1

From (etyl) former, comparative of . Parallel to (m) (via Latin), as comparative form from same Proto-Indo-European root. Related to (m) and (m) (thence (m)), from Proto-Germanic.

Adjective

(-)
  • 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.
  • (senseid) First of aforementioned two items. Used with the , often without a noun.
  • :
  • Synonyms
    * (previous) anterior, erstwhile, previous, prior, quondam, ex- * See also
    Antonyms
    * latter

    Etymology 2

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Someone who forms something; a maker; a creator or founder.
  • Dave was the former of the company.
  • An object used to form something, such as a template, gauge, or cutting die.
  • ''The brick arch was built using a wooden former .
  • (chiefly, British, used in combinations) Someone in, or of, a certain form (class).
  • ''Fifth-former
    Sixth-former .
    Derived terms
    * pan former

    Statistics

    *

    Anagrams

    * reform ----

    pioneer

    English

    (Webster 1913)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • One who goes before, as into the wilderness, preparing the way for others to follow.
  • A person or other entity who is first or among the earliest in any field of inquiry, enterprise, or progress.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-05-10
  • , author=Audrey Garric , title=Urban canopies let nature bloom , volume=188, issue=22, page=30 , magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) citation , passage=As towns continue to grow, replanting vegetation has become a form of urban utopia and green roofs are spreading fast. Last year 1m square metres of plant-covered roofing was built in France, as much as in the US, and 10 times more than in Germany, the pioneer in this field.}}
    Some people will consider their national heroes to be pioneers of civilization.
    Certain politicians can be considered as pioneers of reform.
  • (obsolete, military)   A soldier detailed or employed to form roads, dig trenches, and make bridges, as an army advances; a sapper.
  • A member of any of several European organizations advocating abstinence from alcohol.
  • (Communism)   A child of 10–16 years in the former Soviet Union, in the second of the three stages in becoming a member of the Communist Party.
  • Derived terms

    * pioneer axon * Pioneer Day

    See also

    * (Pioneer movement)

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To go before and prepare or open a way for; to act as pioneer.
  • Synonyms

    * push the envelope * break new ground