Where does “whiles” come from?
whiles (Middle English) comes from Middle English while, from Old English hwīl, from Proto-West Germanic hwīlu, from Proto-Germanic hwīlō, from Proto-Indo-European kʷyeh₁- — to rest; rest, peace.
Ancestry of “whiles”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | while | — |
| 2 | Old English | hwīl | time; while; while; time, while |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | hwīlu | period of rest, pause; time, period of time,... |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | hwīlō | time, period of time, while; period of rest,... |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷyeh₁- | to rest; rest, peace |