- Within a while
- While While, n. [AS. hw[=i]l; akin to OS. hw[=i]l, hw[=i]la,
OFries. hw[=i]le, D. wigl, G. weile, OHG. w[=i]la, hw[=i]la,
hw[=i]l, Icel. hv[=i]la a bed, hv[=i]ld rest, Sw. hvila, Dan.
hvile, Goth. hweila a time, and probably to L. quietus quiet,
and perhaps to Gr. ? the proper time of season. [root]20. Cf.
{Quiet}, {Whilom}.]
1. Space of time, or continued duration, esp. when short; a
time; as, one while we thought him innocent. ``All this
while.'' --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
This mighty queen may no while endure. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
[Some guest that] hath outside his welcome while, And tells the jest without the smile. --Coleridge. [1913 Webster]
I will go forth and breathe the air a while. --Longfellow. [1913 Webster]
2. That which requires time; labor; pains. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
Satan . . . cast him how he might quite her while. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
{At whiles}, at times; at intervals. [1913 Webster]
And so on us at whiles it falls, to claim Powers that we dread. --J. H. Newman. [1913 Webster]
{The while}, {The whiles}, in or during the time that; meantime; while. --Tennyson.
{Within a while}, in a short time; soon.
{Worth while}, worth the time which it requires; worth the time and pains; hence, worth the expense; as, it is not always worth while for a man to prosecute for small debts. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
