whilere
whil·ere
A while ago; a time before; formerly, previouslyA while ago; a time before; formerly, previously.
UK/ʍaɪˈlɛː/US/ʍaɪˈleɹ/
Meaning
1 senses(archaic, not comparable)A while ago; a time before; formerly, previously.
Origin
From Middle English whil er, whileere [and other forms], whilom er (“some while ago or befFrom Middle English whil er, whileere [and other forms], whilom er (“some while ago or before, formerly”), from Old English hwīle ǣr, hwīlum ǣr, from hwīle (accusative singular of hwīl), hwīlum (“at some time in the past, once; sometimes”) (dative plural of hwīl (“period of time, a while”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- (“to rest; peace, rest”)) + ǣr (“before”) (ultimately from Proto-Germanic *airiz (“before, earlier”)). The English word is analysable as while + ere.
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