whilst English · revision 5653

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 1375}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /waɪlst/, /hwaɪlst/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English whilest, an alteration of [[whiles]], a form of [[while]] with the adverbial genitive -s,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002) with an unetymological -t added as in [[amidst]] and [[amongst]].^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ During the time that, while: about 1375 in the OED, about 1400 in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Collins dates it to the 13th century.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Whiles, its source, is from the mid-12th century.^(Etymonline) The phrase ''the whilst'' is long archaic.^(SOED 2002)^(OED 1989) The concessive sense, “although, whereas”, is from 1548,^(OED 1989) and “until”, from about 1520, is obsolete except in dialect.^(OED 1989) In Yorkshire and the Midlands it was also used as a preposition, “until”.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1375 – while.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1520 – until (dialect).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1548 – although, whereas.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Conjunction===

+ # ''(chiefly British, formal)'' [[While]]; during the time that.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(chiefly British, formal)'' Although, whereas.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[while]]

+ * [[whiles]]

+ * [[amidst]]

+ * [[amongst]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}