anterior vs former

anterior

adj
  • Coming before or earlier in time or development, prior to, preceding. 

  • Pronounced with an obstruction located in front of the palato-alveolar region of the mouth, e.g. b, p, d, t. 

  • (of a part of a flower or leaf) Situated further away from the mainstem. 

  • Nearer the forward end, especially in the front of the body; nearer the head or forepart of an animal. 

former

adj
  • Previous. 

  • First of aforementioned two items. Used with the, often without a noun. 

noun
  • An object used to form something, such as a template, gauge, or cutting die. 

  • Someone who forms something; a maker; a creator or founder. 

  • Someone in, or of, a certain form (class). 

How often have the words anterior and former occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )