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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

awhile en · ADV

Pronunciation

  • /əˈʍaɪl/
  • (US) audio
  • /əˈwaɪl/

Etymology

From Old English āne (“(for) a”) hwīle (“while”).

Meanings

  1. (not-comparable) For some time; for a short time.
    • The Negroes, having waited for the white people to go upstairs, began to come in. “Whoa now, just a minute,” said a club member, holding up his walking stick. “Just don’t start up them there stairs yet awhile.” 1960 July 11, Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia, Pa.; New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC:
    • I'll slip beneath these sheets and shiver here awhile / I find this happening more frequently these days 1979, The Boomtown Rats, “Wind Chill Factor (Minus Zero)”, in The Fine Art of Surfacing:
    • Engine No. 18 went off into a shed to rest awhile, and No. 7, a precisely similar one, backed on to the train in her place. 1944 May and June, “When the Circle was Steam Operated”, in Railway Magazine, page 137:
    • Take two cupfuls of rolled oats, put in bread pan, turn on four cupfuls of boiling water, stir for awhile. 1911, Rufus Estes, Good Things to Eat, as Suggested by Rufus, page 83:
    • Sit with me awhile.
  2. (US, not-comparable, qualifier:south-central Pennsylvania) In the meantime; during an implicit ongoing process.
    • Can I get you a drink awhile?

Relateds

while

Synonyms

the while (in the meantime) · momentarily · meanwhilst (in the meantime) · for the moment (in the meantime) · meanwhile (in the meantime) · for a minute (for some time)

Translations (29)

pl w międzyczasie (In the meantime; meanwhile) · ga ar feadh tamaill (For some time; for a short time) · ru ненадо́лго (For some time; for a short time) · fi hetken aikaa (For some time; for a short time) · pl na chwilę (For some time; for a short time) · de eine Weile (For some time; for a short time) · eo dum iom da tempo (For some time; for a short time) · bn কিছুক্ষন (For some time; for a short time) · fr un moment (For some time; for a short time) · fi hetkisen (For some time; for a short time) · pl na moment (For some time; for a short time) · ru на не́которое вре́мя (For some time; for a short time) · id sebentar (For some time; for a short time) · pt por um tempo (For some time; for a short time) · fr un instant (For some time; for a short time) · ja 暫く (For some time; for a short time) · cmn 一會兒 /一会儿 (For some time; for a short time) · hi तब तक (In the meantime; meanwhile) · fi vähän aikaa (For some time; for a short time) · ko 잠깐 (For some time; for a short time) · fi hetken (For some time; for a short time) · ga go fóill (For some time; for a short time) · es un rato (For some time; for a short time) · es algún tiempo (For some time; for a short time) · ja 既にして (In the meantime; meanwhile) · it per un po' (For some time; for a short time) · ga ar feadh píosa (For some time; for a short time) · bg за изве́стно вре́ме (For some time; for a short time) · fr un peu (For some time; for a short time)