Where does “while” come from?

while (Middle English) comes from Old English hwīl, from Proto-West Germanic hwīlu, from Proto-Germanic hwīlō, from Proto-Indo-European kʷyeh₁- — to rest; rest, peace.

Ancestry of “while”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishhwīltime; while; while; time, while
2Proto-West Germanichwīluperiod of rest, pause; time, period of time,...
3Proto-Germanichwīlōtime, period of time, while; period of rest,...
4Proto-Indo-Europeankʷyeh₁-to rest; rest, peace

Words derived from “while”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European kʷyeh₁- →Every word from Proto-Germanic hwīlō →Every word from Proto-West Germanic hwīlu →