whilom
Meanings
Adv
- At some time in the past; formerly, once upon a time.
- At times, on occasion, sometimes.
- Preceded by of or this: for some time that has passed.
Adj
- At some time in the past; former, sometime.
- Of a person: deceased, late.
Conj
- During the same time that; while.
- Up to the time that; till, until.
Origin / 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”))
Synonyms
'til, afore, aforehand, already, antecedent, antecedently, anterior, as, asleep, at one time, at rest, at times, before, beforehand, beforetime, cadaverous, clay-cold, deceased, decomposed, defunct, departed, earlier, ere, erenow, erewhile, erstwhile, erstwhiles, ever and anon, every now and then, every once in a while, every so often, ex, expired, extinct, fey, foregone, foretime, former, formerly, from time to time, gone, good, in advance, in the past, inanimate, inert, intermittently, irregularly, kaput, late, lifeless, living impaired, low, no longer with us, no more, now and again, now and then, occasionally, old, olden, on occasion, once, once in a while, past, perished, precedent, precedently, preceding, previous, previously, prior, quondam, reposing, resting, six feet deep, six feet under, sometime, sometimes, sporadically, stiff, therebefore, till, uncommonly, until, unto, used-to-be, wasted, when, while, whilere, whilom, whilst, with God, yestertide, yestertime, yet
Scrabble Score: 14
whilom is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordwhilom is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
whilom is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary