whilst
Often preceded by the: During the timeOften preceded by the: During the time; meanwhile.
» You shouldn't smoke whilst you work.
Du sollst nicht rauchen, während du arbeitest.
Meaning
1 senses(not comparable)Often preceded by the: During the time; meanwhile.
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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