NYT Dictionary

WHILE

/wæl/
NounConjunctionPrepositionVerbWHEYELGrade 2

Accepted in official NYT Spelling Bee puzzle years: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2024

Meaning

An uncertain duration of time, a period of time.

Etymology

Origin: Old English

From Middle English whyle, from Old English hwīl, from Proto-West Germanic *hwīlu, from Proto-Germanic *hwīlō (compare Dutch wijl, Low German Wiel, German Weile, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål hvile (“rest”), Norwegian Nynorsk kvila (“rest”), Swedish vila (“rest”), Faroese and Icelandic hvíla (“rest”)) from Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- (“to rest”). Cognate with Albanian sillë (“breakfast”), Latin tranquillus, Sanskrit चिर (cirá), Persian شاد (šâd).

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

spellspacethrowwhileageaeonagesblue mooncoon's agecrow's age

Antonyms

sinceuntil

NYT Puzzle Appearances

Accepted in 1 recorded puzzle:

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