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This question asks about the positive or negative connotations of the word erstwhile.

Erstwhile means former by dictionary definition and as discussed and mentioned on this English Language & Usage site, and here and there on the wider internet. It's also considered archaic.

I'd like to know:

  • does (or did) erstwhile consistently carry any positive or negative connotation, or was it a clinically neutral term?

For example, does one remember an erstwhile friend more fondly than a former friend; or would one more readily embrace an erstwhile enemy than a former enemy?

What I've found so far: the ODO and MW dictionary and etymology entries are clinical, the ELU references similarly deal with denotation rather than connotation, the first web reference cited above deals with a connotation arising from an erroneous presupposition, and the second claims without proof that erstwhile references both beginning and end.

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Lawrence
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  • I've always considered it to just mean "former". That said, I think there is an unspoken slightly negative connotation to it, such that I'd probably rather go hang out with a former friend than an erstwhile one. That's probably a lot to do with words that are less-common in use seeming strange, and people tend to shy away from the unfamiliar as a rule. – John Clifford Mar 16 '16 at 09:10
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    Can you please clarify 'first web reference ... above'. / 'Erstwhile' always (ie about 10 times) seemed to invoke 'wistful' to me, so that's one connotation. It might be a rare one. – Edwin Ashworth Mar 16 '16 at 09:21
  • @EdwinAshworth It's the one linked to "here". I've now edited the links into the phrases for easy reference. – Lawrence Mar 16 '16 at 09:25
  • Thanks @JohnClifford. It's kind of weird how difficult it can be to pick up the connotations of unfamiliar words, even given online dictionaries and the internet. It lends support to learning by immersion and to the common advice to learners to read widely. Hats off to language learners everywhere. – Lawrence Mar 16 '16 at 09:26
  • @EdwinAshworth That comment about 'wistful' strikes a chord with me. – Lawrence Mar 16 '16 at 09:31
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    @Lawrence isn't the 'wistful' association mainly because erstwhile is nearly always used in the sense of describing a defunct emotional relationship (friends, lovers, even enemies) and so the context generates a sense of something lost? – Charl E Mar 16 '16 at 09:39
  • @CharlE I think you're right - the word itself is neutral but because of the context it tends to be used in (former friends, associates, lovers) then it has taken on a slightly wistful connotation. It does seem to always refer to people at least - i've never heard anyone talk about their "erstwhile car" for example. – Max Williams Mar 16 '16 at 09:47
  • @CharlE In my reply to Edwin Ashworth, I was speaking subjectively, not analytically, about the wistful-erstwhile link. I'm unsure whether emotional is part of erstwhile's chemistry since there's precedence for an erstwhile chairman but it would certainly fit the link if it is. – Lawrence Mar 16 '16 at 09:47
  • In my case, I think the coincidental similarity of the words plays a part. // Since all words are infinitely polysemous, always filtered through one's emotional and cognitive states when one came across them and later used them, 'connotation' becomes a grey area. Going deeper than denotation, anything else a word conveys – what a word hints at – depends not just on the word but also upon the individual involved. And if one includes synesthesia ... – Edwin Ashworth Mar 16 '16 at 15:54
  • @EdwinAshworth Taken to the limit, that philosophy removes much of poetry's reach by emphasising the individual over the collective. I think there's a middle ground based on concepts that naturally or commonly accompany other (specific) concepts; it's still individual involvement, but with many individuals sharing the same experience. Take golden, for example. It has a widespread and consistently positive connotation linked to food, money and sunsets etc. Erstwhile, on the other hand, lacks current usage and therefore lacks reinforcing contexts, so it is hard to pin down. – Lawrence Mar 16 '16 at 16:10
  • I'd certainly agree that connotation is a gradience. But I'd not agree with the 'consistently positive' label you use for 'golden'. Golden certainly has a general positive connotation, but try asking people who have lost a lot of money by investing in gold at the wrong time. Dictionary.com shows the variable, subjective nature of 'connotation' (in one valid sense of the term): '2. something suggested or implied by a word or thing, rather than being explicitly named or described: “Religion” has always had a negative connotation for me.' – Edwin Ashworth Mar 16 '16 at 16:26
  • I have occasionally heard erstwhile used to mean something like ‘worthy’, without any hint of past tense. For example, I once got a phone call from someone asking for “your erstwhile marketing director”; he did not mean the one who had left some months before. I often wonder how this got started. Is there a well-known book that used the word in ambiguous context? (Compare the change in usage of Nimrod when people did not understand Bugs Bunny's meaning.) – Anton Sherwood Mar 10 '19 at 08:30

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