# whilst

Pronunciation: say "WYLST" /waɪlst/

## Conjunction

1. During the time that something else happens, whether throughout that time or at some point within it.
   - Simple: During the time that something else is happening.
   - _Please remain seated whilst the seatbelt sign is lit._
   - _She kept the radio on whilst she worked through the night._
2. Used to set one fact beside a different or contrasting one, or to admit one point before making another.
   - Simple: Used to show how two facts are different, or to accept one point before saying something else.
   - _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._

## Adverb

3. At the same time as something else is going on, often in the phrase the whilst. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: During that time, while something else is going on.

## 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”).

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/whilst (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).