somewhile en · ADV
Pronunciation
Etymology
From Middle English summehwile, summewile, sumwile, equivalent to some + while. Compare Dutch somwijlen (“sometimes”).
Meanings
- (not-comparable, poetic) Sometimes; from time to time; at times
-
(not-comparable, poetic) At a certain time; at one time; for a non-defined length of time
Of him that spoke, and stopped at last, and sat Still, underneath where Gris Grillon was laid, And heard, somewhile, with languid scornful gaze, The friar putting blame on priest and knight.
1868, Sidney Lanier, The Jacquerie. A Fragment, Chapter IV:Somewhile before the dawn I rose, and stept Softly along the dim way to your room, And found you sleeping in the quiet gloom
1915, Rupert Brooke, A Memory (poem):Tho, under colour of shepeheards, somewhile / There crept in wolves, ful of fraude and guile.
1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], “May. Ægloga Quinta.”, in The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Iohn Wolfe for Iohn Harrison the yonger, […], →OCLC:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| somwhile | alternative | lexicographic |