Translation
once, formerly; at times
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Examples
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Once a king lived in this city.
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There was once a great state.
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They were once friends, now enemies.
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That day will come one day.
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The soldier, once brave, is now an old man.
Quondam is quom, the old form of cum, plus the indefinite -dam: "at a certain time". Most often it looks backwards, "once, formerly", but it can look forwards to "one day, at some time", and a third and weaker use is "now and then, at times". Tense of the verb sorts them out.
Medieval and legal Latin then hardens the word into something close to an adjective placed next to a noun: Iohannes quondam rex is John, the former or late king, and charters use it as a standard way of saying that the man named is dead. English borrowed it in exactly that stiff sense, so a quondam colleague is a former one, which is the only place the word still lives outside Latin.
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quondam: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Latin word "quondam" (once, formerly; at times): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is taught in chapter 5, lesson 3: quondam, umbra, quicumque and 7 more words.