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whilere

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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From Middle English whil er, whileere [and other forms], whilom er (some while ago or before, formerly), from Old English hwīle ǣr, hwīlum ǣr,[1] from hwīle (accusative singular of hwīl), hwīlum (at some time in the past, once; sometimes) (dative plural of hwīl (period of time, a while), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- (to rest; peace, rest)) + ǣr (before) (ultimately from Proto-Germanic *airiz (before, earlier)). The English word is analysable as while +‎ ere.[2]

Pronunciation

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Adverb

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whilere (not comparable)

  1. (archaic) A while ago; a time before; formerly, previously.
    Synonyms: erewhile, erstwhile; see also Thesaurus:formerly
    Antonyms: see Thesaurus:currently, Thesaurus:subsequently

Alternative forms

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Translations

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References

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  1. ^ “whil er” under “ēr, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  2. ^ whilere, adv.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required, Oxford: Oxford University Press, June 2021.