whilst

English

Alternative forms

• whilest (obsolete)
• whylst (obsolete)
• whylest (obsolete)

Etymology

• while +‎ -s > whiles +‎ -t
• Old English hwīl 'period of time', of Germanic origin, an abbreviation of Old English thā hwīle the 'the while that' with genitive suffix -s and suffix -t.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA: /(h)waɪlst/, SAMPA: /waIlst/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Conjunction

whilst

1. (chiefly UK) While, at the same time.

Usage notes

• Chiefly used in British English.
• Rare in North America and may be considered pedantic or pompous.

Translations

while, at the same time

Dutch: terwijl (nl) French: tandis que (fr), pendant que (fr) Portuguese: enquanto (pt) Russian: пока (ru) (poka); в то время, как (ru) (v to vrémja, kak); во время (ru) (vo vrémja)

Spanish: mientras que (es) Turkish: Aynı zamanda (tr) West Frisian: wylst (fy)

Related terms

• while

References

• while on Wikipedia.Wikipedia:while
• whilst in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• “whilst” in the Online Etymology Dictionary, Douglas Harper, 2001