Etymologically
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whilst

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 03:11. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /waɪlst/, /hwaɪlst/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English whilest, an alteration of whiles, a form of while with the adverbial genitive -s,[2][3][4] with an unetymological -t added as in amidst and amongst.[2][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

During the time that, while: about 1375 in the OED, about 1400 in Etymonline.[6][2] Collins dates it to the 13th century.[5]

Semantic evolution

Whiles, its source, is from the mid-12th century.[2] The phrase the whilst is long archaic.[4][6] The concessive sense, “although, whereas”, is from 1548,[6] and “until”, from about 1520, is obsolete except in dialect.[6] In Yorkshire and the Midlands it was also used as a preposition, “until”.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 1375 – while.[6]
  • c. 1520 – until (dialect).[6]
  • 1548 – although, whereas.[6]

Modern meaning

Conjunction

  1. (chiefly British, formal) While; during the time that.
  2. (chiefly British, formal) Although, whereas.

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)