Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “meanwhile” come from?

Meanwhile comes from Middle English menewhile, meaning "during the intervening time."

meanwhile (English): The time between two events; During the time that...

Definitions

  1. The time between two events; During the time that...

Ancestry of “meanwhile”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishmenewhile—
Every word from Middle English menewhile →