whilst

C1 Topic:Grammar & Function Words

US /ʍaɪlst/ UK /waɪlst/ See IPA manual

Freq #7896

Meanings

1

conj
During the time that; while (chiefly British and formal).

Drivers must switch off their engines whilst waiting at the gate.
2

conj
Whereas; in contrast to the fact that.

Whilst I understand your point, I cannot agree with it.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 conj · during the time that; while... while as when

2 conj · whereas; in contrast to the... while whereas

Etymology

From 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,…

*kʷyeh₁- Proto-Indo-European whilst Middle English hwīl Old English *hwīlō Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Grammar & Function Words Register & Style

External links

# whilst

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** conj
**IPA (US):** /ʍaɪlst/
**IPA (UK):** /waɪlst/
**Frequency rank:** 7896

## Meanings
1. During the time that; while (chiefly British and formal).
2. Whereas; in contrast to the fact that.

## Examples
- Drivers must switch off their engines whilst waiting at the gate.
- Whilst I understand your point, I cannot agree with it.

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *kʷyeh₁-
- Root: whilst
- Root: hwīl
- Root: *hwīlō

## Etymology
From 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,…

## AI Etymology
Whilst is from 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). In present-day use, it can mean during the time that; while (chiefly British and formal), or whereas; in contrast to the fact that.

## Topics
- Grammar & Function Words
- Register & Style

markdown