English
while
While comes from Old English hwīl ‘while, period of time’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- ‘to rest’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷyeh₁-‘to rest’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷih₁-l-éh₂reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hwīlō‘time’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hwīlu‘period of rest’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hwīl‘while’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500whyle
- Englishearliest quotation 1588while
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷyeh₁-‘to rest’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷih₁-l-éh₂reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hwīlō‘time’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hwīlu‘period of rest’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hwīl‘while’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500whyle
- Englishearliest quotation 1588while
Earliest quotation: 1588, Samuel Purchas, Hakluytus Posthumus or: “They whiled them with such answere as suted to…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- ‘to rest’
quite, quiet, quit, whilst, coy, requiem, tranquil, quiescent, 18 more
Today it means
noun An uncertain duration of time, a period of time.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- / while