while
Meanings
Noun
- An uncertain duration of time, a period of time.
Verb
- To pass (time) idly.
- To occupy or entertain (someone) in order to let time pass.
- To elapse, to pass.
Related
Similar words
- provided that, providing, so long as
Origin
- Middle English while, from Old English hwīl, from Proto-West Germanic *hwīlu, from Proto-Germanic *hwīlō (compare Dutch wijl, Low German Wiel, German Weile, Danish hvile ("rest"), Norwegian Bokmål hvile ("rest")), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁-. Cognate with Albanian sillë ("breakfast"), Latin tranquillus, Sanskrit चिर, Persian شاد.
Modern English dictionary
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