ci-devant
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of ci-devant
Literally, “heretofore”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As a ci-devant intellectual I was one of the elect.
From Time Magazine Archive
“Release them!” said Osceola, addressing the ci-devant diggers; “and be careful how you handle your spades.”
From Osceola the Seminole The Red Fawn of the Flower Land by Reid, Mayne
“No, no!” rejoined the ci-devant lawyer, who, unlike his confraternity, was of aught but secretive habit.
From No Quarter! by Reid, Mayne
One word only, a farewell one, on the subject of my ci-devant digressions; no, three words; I must say in my own justification. 1st.
From The Life, Letters and Work of Frederic Leighton Volume I by Barrington, Mrs. Russell
As soon as the dread sentence had been carried into execution, the ci-devant jurors came rushing back to the pond, and plunged their bodies into the water.
From Osceola the Seminole The Red Fawn of the Flower Land by Reid, Mayne
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
