whilom

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Etymology

From Middle English whilom (“(adverb) at one time, formerly, once; once upon a time; at times, sometimes; at a future time; (conjunction) while”) [and other forms], from Old English hwīlum, hwīlan, hwīlon (“at one time, once; sometimes”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwīlum, the dative plural of *hwīlu (“period of time, time, while; period of rest, pause”), from Proto-Germanic *hwīlō (“period of time, time, while; period of rest, pause”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- (“to rest; peace, rest”). The Oxford English Dictionary regards adverb sense 2.2 (“for some time that has passed”) as “aberrant”. Cognates * Old High German hwīlōn (Middle High German wīlen, wīlent, German weiland (“at one time, formerly”)) * Old Saxon hwīlon (“sometimes”) (Middle Dutch wilen, Middle Low German wilen (“at one time, formerly”), Dutch wijlen (“deceased, late”))

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