while

conj

Etymology: From Middle English whyle, from Old English hwīl, from Proto-West Germanic *hwīlu, from Proto-Germanic *hwīlō (compare Dutch wijl, Low German Wiel, German Weile, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål hvile (“rest”), Norwegian Nynorsk kvila (“rest”), Swedish vila (“rest”), Faroese and Icelandic hvíla (“rest”)) from Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- (“to rest”). Cognate with Albanian sillë (“breakfast”), Latin tranquillus, Sanskrit चिर (cirá), Persian شاد (šâd).

1. During the same time that.

   “He was sleeping while I was singing.”

   “Driving while intoxicated is against the law.”

2. Although.

   “This case, while interesting, is a bit frustrating.”

   “While I would love to help, I am very busy at the moment.”

3. Until.

   “I'll wait while you've finished painting.”

   “To dark is still used in Swaledale (Yorkshire) in the sense of to lie hid, as, 'Te rattens [rats] mun ha bin darkin whel nu [till now]; we hannot heerd tem tis last fortnith'.”

4. As long as.

   “While you're at school you may live at home.”

   “While there's quiet I can sleep.”

name

1. A surname.

noun

Etymology: From Middle English whyle, from Old English hwīl, from Proto-West Germanic *hwīlu, from Proto-Germanic *hwīlō (compare Dutch wijl, Low German Wiel, German Weile, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål hvile (“rest”), Norwegian Nynorsk kvila (“rest”), Swedish vila (“rest”), Faroese and Icelandic hvíla (“rest”)) from Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- (“to rest”). Cognate with Albanian sillë (“breakfast”), Latin tranquillus, Sanskrit चिर (cirá), Persian شاد (šâd).

1. An uncertain duration of time, a period of time.

   “He lectured for quite a long while.”

   “It’s a long while since anyone lived there, so it’s a ruin now.”

2. An uncertain duration of time, a period of time.
3. An uncertain duration of time, a period of time.

prep

Etymology: From Middle English whyle, from Old English hwīl, from Proto-West Germanic *hwīlu, from Proto-Germanic *hwīlō (compare Dutch wijl, Low German Wiel, German Weile, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål hvile (“rest”), Norwegian Nynorsk kvila (“rest”), Swedish vila (“rest”), Faroese and Icelandic hvíla (“rest”)) from Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- (“to rest”). Cognate with Albanian sillë (“breakfast”), Latin tranquillus, Sanskrit चिर (cirá), Persian شاد (šâd).

1. Until.

   “I may be conveyed into your chamber; I'll lie under your bed while midnight.”

verb

1. Alternative spelling or misspelling of wile.

   “There it lies before me sparkling in the sun, whiling me as it often does from my pen or book to gaze upon its loveliness.”

   “Perhaps the coziness of his seat, and the absence of the sun's rays from the side of the house where he was seated, had some agency in whiling him into a delicious sleep;”