hwil

Forms

hwīl f (strong ō-stem; genitive singular hwīle, nominative plural hwīla)^[1]

• Northumbrian huīl in the Lindisfarne gloss.^[2][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *hwīlu, from Proto-Germanic *hwīlō (“while”).^[1][3] The noun is Gothic 𐍈𐌴𐌹𐌻𐌰 (ƕeila, “time, hour”), Old Norse hvíla (“bed”), Old Frisian hwīle, Old Saxon hwīla and Old High German wīla.^[3][4][5]

Orel and Holthausen connect it with the Indo-European root for rest, Proto-Indo-European *kʷeiH- (“to rest, be quiet”), the root of Latin quiēs (“rest”) and tranquillus (“calm”).^[4][5][6] Orel finds the formation closest to Proto-Slavic *čilъ (“lively, strong”).^[4] The Old Norse word kept the sense "resting place, bed".^[5][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest dated instance is in the will of Abba of 833×839, on a single sheet held to be contemporary, in the accusative of duration: his kin shall hold the land ða hwile þe God wille "for as long as God wills".^[7][8]

Semantic evolution

Bosworth–Toller defines the word as a while, a space of time, as in Wæs seó hwíl micel "it was a long while" in Beowulf.^[9][10] Toller's Supplement adds the indefinite space of time in phrases such as Næs þā nān hwīl tō þām for Latin nec mora, "without delay".^[11] The accusative þā hwīle served for "meanwhile", and þā hwīle þe as the conjunction "while"; the dative plural hwīlum became an adverb, "sometimes, formerly".^[12][10] In glosses it renders Latin hora, tempus and momentum.^[6][2]

The word continued as Middle English while, now English while.^[1]

Timeline

• 833×839 – ða hwile þe God wille in the will of Abba.^[7][8]
• s. x med. – þa hwila þisses andweardan lifes in the Old English Boethius.^[13][8]
• s. x² – wæs seo hwil þæs lang in Genesis (Junius manuscript).^[14][8]
• s. x³/⁴ – huil for Latin hora in the Lindisfarne gloss.^[15][2]
• s. x/xi – Wæs seo hwil micel in the Beowulf manuscript.^[16][10]

Meanings

Noun

1. a while, a space of time.^[9][10][6]
2. a long time.^[10][12]
3. an hour, a moment (glosses).^[6][2]

Word family

• hwīlum
• hwīlwende
• hwīlwendlīċ
• dæġhwīl
• ġesceaphwīl
• sigehwīl

Descendants

• Middle English whyle (→ English while; Scots while)^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Cook, Albert S. (1894), A Glossary of the Old Northumbrian Gospels, Halle: Niemeyer, p. s.v. hwil
3. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 266
4. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 201
5. ^ a b c Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 182
6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. hwīl
7. ^ a b The Electronic Sawyer: Online Catalogue of Anglo-Saxon Charters, revised ed. by S. E. Kelly and R. Rushforth, King's College London / University of Cambridge, esawyer.lib.cam.ac.uk, p. S 1482
8. ^ a b c d Healey, Antonette diPaolo; Price Wilkin, John; Xiang, Xin, eds. (2009), Dictionary of Old English Web Corpus, Toronto: Dictionary of Old English Project
9. ^ a b Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. 575
10. ^ a b c d e Fulk, R. D.; Bjork, Robert E.; Niles, John D., eds. (2008), Klaeber's Beowulf and The Fight at Finnsburg, 4th ed., Toronto: University of Toronto Press (glossary), p. s.v. hwīl
11. ^ Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. Suppl. 581
12. ^ a b Sweet, Henry (1896), The Student's Dictionary of Anglo-Saxon, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 119
13. ^ Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 296
14. ^ Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 513
15. ^ Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 291
16. ^ Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 344