whilst
Synonym of whileSynonym of while.: During the whole, or until the end, of the time that; as long as, at the same time.
» You shouldn't smoke whilst you work.
Du sollst nicht rauchen, während du arbeitest.
Meaning
5 sensesSynonym of while.
(Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, literary, rare)During the whole, or until the end, of the time that; as long as, at the same time.
Drivers must switch off engines whilst on stand.
(Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, literary, rare)Within, or before the end, of the time that.
(Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, literary, rare)Although; in contrast; whereas.
(Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, literary, rare)Besides; in addition.
(Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, literary, rare)Only if; provided that; as long as; so long as.
Examples
44 sentencesYou shouldn't smoke whilst you work.
deDu sollst nicht rauchen, während du arbeitest.
I will introduce it whilst showing you photos.
We had a really interesting conversation whilst enjoying the mixed gender bath.
Whilst walking on the beach, he found a message in a bottle.
deBei einem Strandspaziergang fand er eine Flaschenpost.
Whilst on my way to school, I happened to catch sight of my uncle.
Origin
From Late Middle English whilst, whilest, qwhilste (Northern England), quilest (NorthwestFrom Late Middle English whilst, whilest, qwhilste (Northern England), quilest (Northwest Midlands) [and other forms], from whiles (“during the time that, while; only so long as; provided that; because, since; until”) + -t (excrescent suffix, perhaps due to a combination of -(e)s and the following word the, or influenced by the superlative suffix -est). Whiles is derived from whiles (“period of time, a while”, noun) (probably from the second element of adverbs and conjunctions like otherwhiles and somewhiles), from while (“period of time, a while”, noun) + -s (suffix forming adverbs of manner, space, and time); and while is from Old English hwīl (“period of time, a while”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *hwīlō (“period of time, a while; period of rest, break, pause”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- (“to rest; peace, rest”). The English word can be analysed as whiles + -t (excrescent suffix appended to words suffixed with -s).
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