DictionaryAI

whilst

WYLST/waɪlst/

US spellingwhile

3 meanings of whilst

Practice

  1. 1
    duringconjunction
    During the time that something else happens, whether throughout that time or at some point within it.

    Please remain seated whilst the seatbelt sign is lit.

    She kept the radio on whilst she worked through the night.

    UsageWorks just like while, including before a short phrase: whilst on duty, whilst in hospital.

    Similarwhilst, as

    Note

    British, Irish and Commonwealth English keep both while and whilst in ordinary use, whereas in North America whilst is literary or somewhat rare.

  2. 2
    whereasconjunction
    Used to set one fact beside a different or contrasting one, or to admit one point before making another.

    Whilst I understand your concerns, I don't think the plan should be delayed.

    The north of the country is cold and wet, whilst the south is warm and dry.

    UsageTo show only a contrast, whereas or although is clearer, since whilst can also suggest the same time.

    Note

    Time shades easily into contrast: in Thomas Fuller's The Church-History of Britain (1655) the ignorant wondered whilst the learned well understood, at once and in opposition.

  3. 3
    adverbarchaic
    At the same time as something else is going on, often in the phrase the whilst.
    Nay, I prethee put on this gown, & this beard, make him beleeue thou art ſir Topas the Curate, doe it quickly. Ile call ſir Toby the whilſt.
    c. 1601, William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”
    Hero. Leave, leave, tis novv too late. She is dead, her laſt is breathed. / Cleo[phila]. VVhat ſhall vvee doe. / Her[o]. Goe run, / And tell the Duke; and vvhilſt ile cloſe her eyes.
    c. 1607, Franc[is] Beaumont, Jo[hn] Fletcher
    Note

    The adverb usually comes with the in front: in Twelfth Night a plotter promises to call Sir Toby the whilst, meaning in the meantime, and Walter Scott still uses something in hand the whilst in Ivanhoe. Outside dialect it is archaic or obsolete; meanwhile or in the meantime does its work today.

    Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • In Twelfth Night, Maria, a participant in the plot against Malvolio, promises to call Sir Toby using the words ‘the whilst’. folger.edu
    • The adverbial expression means ‘in the meantime’. en.wiktionary.org
    • Walter Scott uses ‘something in hand the whilst’ in Ivanhoe. gutenberg.org

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Origin

From late Middle English whilst (also whilest and other forms), from whiles (“while; as long as”) + an extra -t, perhaps from -(e)s running into a following the, or influenced by the superlative ending -est. Whiles comes from while (“a period of time”) + the adverb-forming -s, and while goes back to Old English hwīl (“a period of time”), from Proto-Germanic *hwīlō and ultimately Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- (“to rest”). Compare West Frisian wylst (“whilst”).

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 8 facts

  • Whilst derives from Late Middle English forms including whilst and whilest. en.wiktionary.org
  • Whilst was formed from whiles with an additional -t. en.wiktionary.org
  • The additional -t may have arisen through contact with a following the. en.wiktionary.org
  • Influence from the superlative ending -est is another proposed explanation. en.wiktionary.org
  • Whiles derives from the noun while with the adverbial suffix -s. en.wiktionary.org
  • While descends from Old English hwīl and ultimately Proto-Germanic *hwīlō. en.wiktionary.org
  • Proto-Germanic *hwīlō ultimately derives from Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁-, meaning ‘to rest’. en.wiktionary.org
  • West Frisian has the comparable conjunction wylst, meaning ‘whilst’. en.wiktionary.org