Crossword clues for while
while
- In the course of
- Unit of power
- Indefinite period
- Vague time period
- Worth ___
- Spend leisurely, with "away"
- Space of time
- Imprecise time period
- Happening at the same time that
- DWI part
- Considerable time
- Bit of a wait
- At the same time (as)
- "It was good ___ it lasted"
- "...___ I tell of Yuletide treasure, fa la la la la la la la la!"
- "___ England Slept" (Churchill book)
- ___ U WAIT (store sign phrase)
- Indefinite wait
- *"___ England Slept" (1938 Churchill book)
- A period of indeterminate length (usually short) marked by some action or condition
- With 17 and 58 Across, a benedict's motto
- Worth one's ___
- Time period
- Period of time
- Churchill's "___ England Slept"
- Mean or worth follower
- As long as
- During the time that
- At the same time that
- Chicanery surrounding start of Hanoverian period
- Foremost of maestri so up and down with movement
- Long time
- Even though
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
While \While\, n. [AS. hw[=i]l; akin to OS. hw[=i]l, hw[=i]la, OFries. hw[=i]le, D. wigl, G. weile, OHG. w[=i]la, hw[=i]la, hw[=i]l, Icel. hv[=i]la a bed, hv[=i]ld rest, Sw. hvila, Dan. hvile, Goth. hweila a time, and probably to L. quietus quiet, and perhaps to Gr. ? the proper time of season. [root]20. Cf. Quiet, Whilom.]
-
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. -
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 \While\, prep. Until; till. [Obs. or Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
I may be conveyed into your chamber;
I'll lie under your bed while midnight.
--Beau. & Fl.
While \While\, v. 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 \While\, v. i.
To loiter. [R.]
--Spectator.
While \While\, conj.
-
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. -
Hence, under which circumstances; in which case; though; whereas.
While as, While that, during or at the time that. [Obs.]
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Old English hwile, accusative of hwil "a space of time," from Proto-Germanic *hwilo (cognates: Old Saxon hwil, Old Frisian hwile, Old High German hwila, German Weile, Gothic hveila "space of time, while"), originally "rest" (compare Old Norse hvila "bed," hvild "rest"), from PIE *kwi-lo-, suffixed form of root *kweie- (2) "to rest" (cognates: Avestan shaitish "joy," Old Persian šiyatish "joy," Latin quies "rest, repose, quiet," Old Church Slavonic po-koji "rest"). Notion of "period of rest" became in Germanic "period of time."\n
\nNow largely superseded by time except in formulaic constructions (such as all the while). Middle English sense of "short space of time spent in doing something" now only preserved in worthwhile and phrases such as worth (one's) while. As a conjunction, "during or in the time that; as long as" (late Old English), it represents Old English þa hwile þe, literally "the while that." Form whiles is recorded from early 13c.; whilst is from late 14c., with excrescent -st as in amongst, amidst. Service while-you-wait is attested from 1911.
"to cause (time) to pass (without dullness)," 1630s, earlier "to occupy or engage (someone or something) for a period of time" (c.1600), new formation from while (n.), not considered to be from Middle English hwulen "to have leisure," which is from a Germanic verb form of while (n.) (compare German weilen "to stay, linger"). An association with phrases such as Shakespearean beguile the day, Latin diem decipere, French tromper le temps "has led to the substitution of WILE v by some modern writers" [OED] (see wile (v.)).
Wiktionary
conj. During the same time that. n. An uncertain duration of time, a period of time. vb. 1 (context transitive English) To pass (time) idly. 2 To loiter.
WordNet
Wikipedia
"While" is a word in the English language that functions both as a noun and as a subordinating conjunction. Its meaning varies largely based on its intended function, position in the phrase and even the writer or speaker's regional dialect. As a conjunction, it is synonymous with the word "whilst", a form often considered archaic in American and Canadian English, as well as in some style guides on both sides of the Atlantic.
- redirect infinite loop
While is an English word indicating duration or simultaneity.
While may also refer to:
- Chris While (born 1956), British singer-songwriter
- Kellie While (born 1976), British singer-songwriter
- While loop in computer programming
while(1<2) is the seventh studio album by the Canadian electronic music producer deadmau5, released on 17 June 2014 by mau5trap and Astralwerks in the United States and by Virgin EMI Records internationally. It is his first studio album to be released by Virgin EMI internationally and by Astralwerks in the United States. Many of the songs on the album were originally uploaded to deadmau5's SoundCloud account before they were removed from the site in early 2014.
Usage examples of "while".
He had learned her opinions on the subject of Aberrancy over the weeks they had spent together, and while he did not agree with much of what she said, it had enough validity to make him think.
In their aberration they believed it was worth their while to break all the barriers of perception, even if they had to become trees to do that.
We wondered for a long while why Kadra was so adamant about evacuating Tenua to the Abesse and sending her people straight into Volan hands.
Now he thought that he would abide their coming and see if he might join their company, since if he crossed the water he would be on the backward way: and it was but a little while ere the head of them came up over the hill, and were presently going past Ralph, who rose up to look on them, and be seen of them, but they took little heed of him.
Dale of the Tower: there shall we abide a while to gather victual, a day or two, or three maybe: so my Lord will hold a tourney there: that is to say that I myself and some few others shall try thy manhood somewhat.
Either come down to us into the meadow yonder, that we may slay you with less labour, or else, which will be the better for you, give up to us the Upmeads thralls who be with you, and then turn your faces and go back to your houses, and abide there till we come and pull you out of them, which may be some while yet.
I made for thee, and one also for me, while I was abiding thee after the battle, and my love and my hope is woven into it.
Apparently satisfied it would support his weight, he leaned back, rocking gently while Abie prepared their coffee.
The sheriff thrust the papers at Major MacInnes and Abigail could only stare while he quickly scanned the pages.
He noticed the older antidepressants like amitriptyline decreased psychic ability, while the newer serotonin reuptake inhibitors were either neutral or they enhanced it.
They abjured the implicit reverence which the pride of Rome had exacted from their ignorance, while they acquired the knowledge and possession of those advantages by which alone she supported her declining greatness.
Those that remained were vacuum ablating, their edges fraying like worn cloth, while their flat surfaces slowly dissolved, reducing their overall thickness.
In the cold stream Deacon Rose bathed and performed his ablutions and meditations, while a much subdued Pryor saw to the horses.
In offering a few hints for the domestic management of these abnormal conditions, we would at the same time remark, that, while health may be regained by skillful treatment, recovery will be gradual.
All the while the shaft of phosphorescence from the well was getting brighter and brighter, bringing to the minds of the huddled men, a sense of doom and abnormality which far outraced any image their conscious minds could form.