the while
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Middle English þe while, from Old English þā hwīle, equivalent to the + while (noun).[1]
Adverb
[edit]the while (not comparable)
- At the same time; during that period; meanwhile.
- Synonym: all the while
- 2012, Tracy Saunders, The Indalo Quest, page 71:
- Finally, she reluctantly piled in with me, complaining the while.
References
[edit]- ^ “the while” under “while, n.”, in OED Online
, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
