awhile

Etymology

Old English ane (“(for) a”) hwile (“while”)

adv

  1. For some time; for a short time.
    Sit with me awhile.
    Gratiano: […]Fare ye well awhile: I'll end my exhortation after dinner. c. 1596–97, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, act 1, scene 1
    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
    I'll slip beneath these sheets and shiver here awhile / I find this happening more frequently these days 1979, The Boomtown Rats (lyrics and music), “Wind Chill Factor (Minus Zero)”, in The Fine Art of Surfacing
  2. (US, Pennsylvania Dutch English) In the meantime; during an implicit ongoing process.
    Can I get you a drink awhile?

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