formerprevious

Formerprevious is a neologism used in linguistic and stylistic discussions to describe redundancy involving two temporal descriptors that both refer to the past. The term combines former and previous, two adjectives that indicate something earlier in time, and is used as a label rather than an ordinary idiom.

Usage: It characterizes phrases where both terms contribute overlapping temporal meaning, producing a phrase whose redundancy is salient in editing or discourse analysis. Not standard: It is not part of mainstream lexical resources; it appears in online discussions, style commentary, and some guides as an example of pleonasm or tautology.

Examples: the former previous policy was abandoned; we revisited the former previous plan. These illustrate the idea that two consecutive past-time descriptors create redundancy.

Origin: The exact origin is unclear; the term appears in contemporary online discussions about style and redundancy. It is treated by some as a cautionary label rather than a productive compound in formal writing.

See also: tautology, pleonasm, redundancy.