| 1 | English | worthwhile | Good and important enough to spend time, effort,... |
| 2 | English | while | An uncertain duration of time, a period of time;... |
| 3 | Middle English | whyle | — |
| 4 | Old English | hwīl | time; while; while; time, while |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | hwīlu | period of rest, pause; time, period of time,... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | hwīlō | time, period of time, while; period of rest,... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷyeh₁- | to rest; rest, peace |