[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/whilst/)

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# whilst

conjunction

«whilst» in the English dictionary: Early Modern English — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Early Modern English

### Meaning

During the time that; at the same time as. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/emode/W/whilst/#m1)

### Then and now

Today "whilst" is an old form of "while", used mainly in British English and sounding old-fashioned; the sense is the same.

### Examples

- She put down the candles whilst she got over the stile. (English Fairy Tales) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/emode/W/whilst/#x1)
- Whilst they were speaking a fiery dragon came flying through the air. (The Yellow Fairy Book) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/emode/W/whilst/#x2)
- For mercy's sake give up this mad idea and retire whilst you can." (The Arabian Nights Entertainments) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/emode/W/whilst/#x3)

### Note

Today: while.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «whilst» in the Early Modern English dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/emode/W/whilst/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«whilst» in the Early Modern English dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/emode/w/whilst.html) on Mova free.