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- Dictionarywhilom/ˈwʌɪləm/
adverb
- 1. formerly; in the past: "the wistful eyes which whilom glanced down upon the fields"
adjective
- 1. former; erstwhile: "a whilom circus acrobat"
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Whilom is an archaic adverb meaning "formerly" and an adjective meaning "former." Learn its etymology, synonyms, examples, and usage from the Merriam-Webster dictionary.
Whilom is an archaic word that means formerly or once. It can be used as an adverb or an adjective. See examples, synonyms, word origin and usage trends of 'whilom'.
- Etymology
- Pronunciation
- Adverb
- Adjective
- Conjunction
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From Middle English whilom (“(adverb) at one time, formerly, once; once upon a time; at times, sometimes; at a future time; (conjunction) while”)[and other forms], from Old English hwīlum, hwīlan, hwīlon (“at one time, once; sometimes”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwīlum, the dative plural of *hwīlu (“period of time, time, while; period of rest, pau...
(Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈwaɪləm/(General American) IPA(key): /ˈwaɪləm/, /ˈʍaɪ-/Hyphenation: whil‧omwhilom (not comparable) 1. (archaic except literary) At some time in the past; formerly, once upon a time. 1.1. Synonyms: see Thesaurus:formerly 1.1. 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I”, in The Faerie Queene.[…], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 1, page 1: 1.1.1. Lo I the man, vvhoſe Muſe vvhilome did maske, / As time her ta...
whilom (not comparable) 1. (archaic except literary) At some time in the past; former, sometime. 1.1. Synonyms: erstwhile, quondam; see also Thesaurus:former 1.1. 1837, Thomas Carlyle, “Death”, in The French Revolution: A History[…], volume III (The Guillotine), London: James Fraser,[…], →OCLC, book V (Terror the Order of the Day), page 290: 1.1.1....
whilom (archaic except British, dialectal and literary) 1. During the same time that; while. 1.1. Synonyms: see Thesaurus:while 1.1. 1647, Theodore de la Guard [pseudonym; Nathaniel Ward], The Simple Cobler of Aggawam in America.[…], London: […] J[ohn] D[ever] & R[obert] I[bbitson] for Stephen Bowtell,[…], →OCLC, page 77: 1.1.1. Subjects their King...
whilom is an archaic word that can be used as an adverb, adjective or conjunction. It means at some time in the past, formerly, once upon a time, while or until.
Whilom definition: former; erstwhile. See examples of WHILOM used in a sentence.
Whilom is an adjective meaning having once been or former, or an adverb meaning at a past time or formerly. Find out the origin, usage and examples of whilom from various dictionaries and sources.
Whilom is an archaic word that can be used as an adverb or a conjunction to mean formerly, once, or in the past. It comes from Old English and has six meanings in OED, two of which are obsolete.
Whilom is an adjective meaning having been such at some previous time. It is often used to describe someone or something that is no longer relevant or important. See examples, similar words, and opposite words for whilom.
