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Webster 1913 Edition


While

While

,
Noun.
[AS.
hwīl
; akin to OS.
hwīl
,
hwīla
, OFries.
hwīle
, D.
wigl
, G.
weile
, OHG.
wīla
,
hwīla
,
hwīl
, Icel.
hvīla
a bed,
hvīld
rest, Sw.
hvila
, Dan.
hvile
, Goth.
hweila
a time, and probably to L.
quietus
quiet, and perhaps to Gr. [GREEK] the proper time of season. √20. Cf.
Quiet
,
Whilom
.]
1.
Space of time, or continued duration, esp. when short; a time;
as, one
while
we thought him innocent
.
“All this while.”
Shak.
This mighty queen may no
while
endure.
Chaucer.
[Some guest that] hath outside his welcome
while
,
And tells the jest without the smile.
Coleridge.
I will go forth and breathe the air a
while
.
Longfellow.
2.
That which requires time; labor; pains.
[Obs.]
Satan . . . cast him how he might quite her
while
.
Chaucer.
At whiles
,
at times; at intervals.

And so on us
at whiles
it falls, to claim
Powers that we dread.
J. H. Newman.
The while
,
The whiles
,
in or during the time that; meantime; while.
Tennyson.
Within a while
,
in a short time; soon.
Worth while
,
worth the time which it requires; worth the time and pains; hence, worth the expense; as, it is not always worth while for a man to prosecute for small debts.

While

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Whiled
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Whiling
.]
To cause to pass away pleasantly or without irksomeness or disgust; to spend or pass; – usually followed by away.
The lovely lady
whiled
the hours away.
Longfellow.

While

,
Verb.
I.
To loiter.
[R.]
Spectator.

While

,
c
onj.
1.
During the time that; as long as; whilst; at the same time that;
as,
while
I write, you sleep
.
While I have time and space.”
Chaucer.
Use your memory; you will sensibly experience a gradual improvement,
while
you take care not to overload it.
I. Watts.
2.
Hence, under which circumstances; in which case; though; whereas.
While as
,
While that
,
during or at the time that.
[Obs.]

While

,
p
rep.
Until; till.
[Obs. or Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
I may be conveyed into your chamber;
I’ll lie under your bed
while
midnight.
Beau. & Fl.

Webster 1828 Edition


While

WHILE

,
Noun.
[G. See the Verb.] Time; space of time, or continued duration. He was some while in this country. One while we thought him innocent.
Pausing a while, thus to herself she musd.
Worth while, worth the time which it requires; worth the time and pains; hence, worth the expense. It is not always worth while for a man to prosecute for small debts.

WHILE

,
adv.
1.
During the time that while I write, you sleep.
2.
As long as.
Use your memory, and you will sensibly experience a gradual improvement, while you take care not to overload it.
3.
At the same time that.

WHILE

,
Verb.
T.
[G., to abide, to stay.] To while away, as time, in English, is to loiter; or more generally, to cause time to pass away pleasantly, without irksomeness; as, we while away time in amusements or diversions.
Let us while away this life.

WHILE

,
Verb.
I.
To loiter.

Definition 2024


while

while

English

Noun

while (plural whiles)

  1. An uncertain duration of time, a period of time.
    He lectured for quite a long while.
    • 1857, Charles Kingsley, [Letters and Memories]:
      Do the good that's nearest Though it's dull at whiles.

Translations

Conjunction

while

  1. During the same time that.
    He was sleeping while I was singing.
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 12, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      While the powwow was going on the big woman came back again. She was consider'ble rumpled and scratched up, but there was fire in her eye.
    • 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.
    • 2013 June 7, David Simpson, Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36:
      Like most human activities, ballooning has sponsored heroes and hucksters and a good deal in between. For every dedicated scientist patiently recording atmospheric pressure and wind speed while shivering at high altitudes, there is a carnival barker with a bevy of pretty girls willing to dangle from a basket or parachute down to earth.
  2. Although.
    This case, while interesting, is a bit frustrating.
  3. (Northern England, Scotland) Until.
    I'll wait while you've finished painting.
    • Beaumont and Fletcher
      I may be conveyed into your chamber; I'll lie under your bed while midnight.
  4. As long as.
    While you're at school you may live at home.
    • I. Watts
      Use your memory; you will sensibly experience a gradual improvement, while you take care not to overload it.

Translations

Verb

while (third-person singular simple present whiles, present participle whiling, simple past and past participle whiled)

  1. (transitive) To pass (time) idly.
    • Longfellow
      The lovely lady whiled the hours away.
  2. To loiter.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Spectator to this entry?)

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: people · still · just · #143: while · again · also · away