Whilst

How to spell whilst

6 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce whilst

What does whilst mean?

1. conjunctionDuring the time that; at the same time as; used to introduce something happening simultaneously.
2. conjunctionWhereas or although; used to contrast two facts or statements.

Whilst in a sentence

• She reviewed the contract whilst waiting for her flight.

• Whilst the proposal had merit, the budget simply could not cover it.

• The team kept the office running whilst the manager was on leave.

• Whilst most colleagues agreed, two of them raised serious objections.

Where does whilst come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Whilst grew out of the Old English noun hwil, which meant 'a period or space of time' and still survives as the modern word 'while'. In Middle English the phrase 'the whiles' was used as a conjunction meaning 'during the time that', the final -s being an old adverbial genitive ending that signalled time or manner. By the medieval period an extra -t had attached itself to the end, producing 'whilst', exactly the same parasitic -t that turned 'among' into 'amongst' and 'amid' into 'amidst'. The two forms 'while' and 'whilst' have always meant the same thing, but over the centuries 'whilst' became the more formal and literary choice. Today it remains common and fully standard in British and much Commonwealth writing, while it sounds noticeably old-fashioned to American ears; the silent-looking cluster -lst is the spot writers tend to fumble.

How the word is built

• whil- (from Old English hwil: a period of time)
• -st (excrescent ending added by analogy with amongst, amidst)