while
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
Old English hwīl. Cognate with Low German wil.
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Noun
while (plural whiles)
- A certain duration of time, a period of time.
- He lectured for quite a long while.
[edit] Translations
a certain duration of time, a period of time
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[edit] Conjunction
while
- During the same time that.
- He was sleeping while I was singing.
- 1948, Carey McWilliams, North from Mexico / The Spanish-Speaking People of The United States, J. B. Lippincott Company, page 25,
- While De Anza was exploring the Bay of San Francisco, seeking a site for the presidio, the American colonists on the eastern seaboard, three thousand miles away, were celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
- although
- This case, while interesting, is a bit frustrating.
- (Northern England, Scotland) until
- I'll wait while you've finished painting.
- I may be conveyed into your chamber; I'll lie under your bed while midnight. — Beaumont and Flanders.
[edit] Translations
during the same time that
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although
[edit] Verb
while (third-person singular simple present whiles, present participle whiling, simple past and past participle whiled)
- (transitive) To pass (time) idly.
