From Middle English whyle, from Old English hwīl, from Proto-West Germanic *hwīlu, from Proto-Germanic *hwīlō (compare Dutch wijl, Low German Wiel, German Weile, Danish hvile, Norwegian Bokmål hvile), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁-.

• IPA: /ʍaɪl/, /waɪl/

while

1. An uncertain duration of time, a period of time.

   He lectured for quite a long while.

   It’s a long while since anyone lived there, so it’s a ruin now.

   1. (US) an uncertain long period of time
   2. (Philippines) an uncertain short moment

• spell; see also Thesaurus:uncertain period

• (antonym(s) of “uncertain long period”): bit

• French: moment
• German: Weile, Weilchen diminutive, Zeitspanne
• Italian: periodo, po', lasso di tempo
• Portuguese: tempo
• Russian: вре́мя
• Spanish: mientras, rato

1. During the same time that.

   He was sleeping while I was singing.

   Driving while intoxicated is against the law.

   • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter XII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC ↗:

     While the powwow was going on the big woman came back again. She was consider'ble rumpled and scratched up, but there was fire in her eye.

2. Although.

   This case, while interesting, is a bit frustrating.

   While I would love to help, I am very busy at the moment.

3. (Northern England, Scotland) Until.

   I'll wait while you've finished painting.

4. As long as.

   While you're at school you may live at home.

   • 1725, Isaac Watts, Logick: Or, The Right Use of Reason in the Enquiry after Truth, […], 2nd edition, London: […] John Clark and Richard Hett, […], Emanuel Matthews, […], and Richard Ford, […], published 1726, →OCLC ↗:

     Use your memory; you will sensibly experience a gradual improvement, while you take care not to load it to excess.

5. (media, public policy)

   He was detained for four hours at the store yesterday. His crime? Shopping while black.

• (during the same time that) whilst; see also Thesaurus:while
• (although) as much as; see also Thesaurus:even though
• (until) till; see also Thesaurus:until
• (as long as) provided that, providing, so long as

• while loop

• French: pendant que, tant, tandis que, alors que
• German: während, solange
• Italian: mentre
• Portuguese: enquanto
• Russian: пока́
• Spanish: mientras, siempre y cuando

• French: tandis que, bien que, quoique
• German: obwohl, obgleich, während, auch wenn
• Italian: malgrado, benché, sebbene
• Portuguese: embora, malgrado
• Russian: хотя́
• Spanish: aunque

• French: tant que
• German: solange
• Spanish: en tanto que

1. (Northern England, Scotland) Until.
   • c. 1613, Thomas Middleton, William Rowley, “Wit at Several Weapons. A Comedy.”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC ↗, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     I may be conveyed into your chamber; I'll lie under your bed while midnight.

while (whiles, present participle whiling; simple past and past participle whiled)

1. (transitive, now only in combination with away; see also while away) To pass (time) idly.

   Synonyms: idle, laze, lounge

   I whiled away the hours whilst waiting for him to arrive

   • 1839, Robert Folkestone Williams, The Youth of Shakespeare‎, page 184:

     Some were whiling the time by admiring the figures on the cloth of tissue.

   • 1863 November 23, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “The Student’s Tale. The Falcon of Ser Federigo.”, in Tales of a Wayside Inn, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC ↗, page 35 ↗:

     Here in seclusion, as a widow may, / The lovely lady whiled the hours away, […]

2. (transitive) To occupy or entertain (someone) in order to let time pass.
3. (intransitive, archaic) To elapse, to pass.
4. Alternative spelling or misspelling of wile.

• (loiter) see also Thesaurus:loiter

• whilst
• awhile

• German: vertrödeln (to dawdle)

• German: unterhalten, beschäftigen, (gemeinsam) die Zeit verbringen
• Italian: intrattenere