WordNet

a period of indeterminate length (usually short) marked by some action or condition; "he was here for a little while"; "I need to rest for a piece"; "a spell of good weather"; "a patch of bad weather" (同)piece, spell, patch
in between; "two houses with a tree between" (同)'tween
in the interval; "dancing all the dances with little rest between" (同)betwixt
after a negative statement used as an intensive meaning something like `likewise or `also; "he isnt stupid, but he isnt exactly a genius either"; "I dont know either"; "if you dont order dessert I wont either"
at the same time but in another place; "meanwhile, back at the ranch..."
during the intervening time; "meanwhile I will not think about the problem"; "meantime he was attentive to his other interests"; "in the meantime the police were notified" (同)meantime, in the meantime

PrepTutorEJDIC

=while
《通例 a while》『時間,』間,(特に)少しの時間 / 『…する間に(は)』 / 《譲歩》『…であるが,』…なのに / 《比較・対照》(…だが)『一方では』 / 《類似・対応》そして[その上] / 《英北東部》《俗》…まで(until)
《場所・空間》…『の間に』 / 《時間・期間》…『の間に』 / 《数量・程度・内容など》…の間に,の中間に / 《分配》…『の間で』 / 《区別・選択》…『の間で』,のいずれかを / 《関係》…『の間に』 / 《協力・共有》…と協力して,の間で / 《理由》…やら…やらで / 《場所・位置》『間に』,中間に / 《時》間に
(二つのうちの)『どちらかの』;どちらでも,どちらの…も / (2者のうちの)『どちらか一方』;『どちらでも』 / …『か』…『か』(どちらか);…『も』…『も』(どちらも) / …『もまた』[…ない],…と同じ程度に[…ない]
=meantime
…『の間に』,に囲まれて / 《おもに最上級と共に》…『の中の一つ』(『一人』)『で』,のうちに数えられて / 《分配を表す動詞と共に》…『の間で』,めいめいに / …がいっしょになって,が協力して

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出典(authority):フリー百科事典『ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』「2014/04/09 08:42:21」(JST)

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For other uses, see While (disambiguation).

Look up while or whilst in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

"While" is a word in the English language that functions both as a noun and as a subordinating conjunction. Its meaning varies largely based on its intended function, position in the phrase and even the writer or speaker's regional dialect. As a conjunction, it is synonymous with the word "whilst", a form often considered archaic in American and Canadian English, as well as in some style guides on both sides of the Atlantic.

Usage

Noun

A while and awhile are often confused due to the nature that while is often accompanied by the indefinite article. The main difference is that a while means "an amount of time" or "some duration" whereas awhile is an adverb meaning "for some amount of time" or "for some duration".^[1]

"I slept for a while before dinner."

"I slept awhile before dinner."

Both of these sentences yield the same effective meaning. Whilst is only a conjunction, and so its use here would be incorrect.

Conjunction

The primary function of the word as a conjunction is to indicate that two separate clauses occur at the same time.

"The days were hot while we were on vacation."

"I read a magazine while I was waiting."

While can also be legitimately used in the contrastive sense, comparable to the words "although" or "whereas", provided that it is not ambiguous (although some commentators, such as Eric Partridge, have frowned upon such use):

"While I like cats, my husband is allergic."

"While Sally plays, Sue works."

The latter sentence can mean either "during the time that Sally plays, Sue works" or "although Sally plays, Sue works" and is thus ambiguous.

Fowler's Modern English Usage disapproves of several uses of the conjunctive while. At times it is inappropriately used as a coordinating conjunction: "and" or "but" should be used instead. Its usage as "elegant variation" is also discouraged, as it is masquerading as a "formal word".^[2]

In some northern British dialects of English, while is translated into standard English as "until".^[3]

Whilst

In standard British English and Australian English, whilst, as a conjunction, is synonymous with although, whereas, but or while. Unlike whilst, while is also used as a noun (as in “rest for a while”) or a verb (as in “while away the hours”).

The usage of whilst is chiefly British.^[4] For example, the BBC World Service website “Learning English”, in their “Ask about English” section, uses the word whilst when explaining the usage of “while and whereas”.^[5]

In American English and Canadian English, whilst is considered to be pretentious or archaic.^[6]^[7]

Some publications on both sides of the Atlantic disapprove of whilst in their style guides (along with "amidst" and "amongst"); for example:

Times Online Style Guide: "while (not whilst)"^[8]
Guardian Style Guide: "while not whilst"^[9]
Hansard: the Canadian Parliament record: "while not whilst"^[10]

The American Heritage Guide writes that, "while using whilst runs the risk of sounding pretentious, it can sometimes add a literary or ironically formal note to a piece of writing."^[11]

Practical English Usage by Michael Swan (OUP), a reference book for intermediate and advanced learners of English, does not include whilst but has several sections covering the usage of while.

References

^ A While vs Awhile
^ "while": Fowler's Modern English Usage, Second Edition, ed. Sir Ernest Gowers 1965 and 1983, and Pocket Fowler's Modern English Usage. Ed. Robert Allen. Oxford University Press, 1999
^ while until – indexes p. 142, Basic Broad Yorkshire by Arnold Kellet, ISBN 1-870071-82-4. Smith Settle Ltd., 2001
^ "Wiktionary".
^ “Note that whilst we would use while or whereas within sentences to contrast two ideas, across sentences we would need to use ‘however’ or ‘on the other hand’.”(italics added)."BBC World Service: 'Learning English'". Retrieved 2012-04-19.
^ English Usage: Whilst Or While?
^ Strunk, W., and White, E.B. The Elements of Style. 4th ed. 2000. Allyn & Bacon, Boston. Pg. 63-64.
^ Kelly, Jeremy. "Online Style Guide W". The Times (London). ^{[dead link]}
^ "Guardian Style Guide". The Guardian (London). 2014-01-26.
^ Hansard Association of Canada Style Guide
^ Houghton Mifflin Company (2005). The American Heritage guide to contemporary usage and style. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 503. ISBN 0-618-60499-5.

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