different between whilst vs whist

English

Alternative forms

• whilest (obsolete)
• whylst (obsolete)
• whylest (obsolete)

Etymology

From whiles +? -t. Surface analysis while +? -st (“excrescence”). Cognate with West Frisian wylst (“whilst”). More at whiles.

Pronunciation

• (General American, Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /wa?lst/, /hwa?lst/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /w??lst/

Conjunction

whilst

1. (Britain, rare or literary in North America) While, at the same time.

   Synonyms: while; see also Thesaurus:while

Usage notes

In American English, whilst is considered to be pretentious or archaic. Penguin Working Words recommends while only, and notes that whilst is old-fashioned. Cambridge Guide to English Usage and M-W's Webster's Guide to English Usage comment on its regional character, and note that it is rare in American usage. It is thus safer to use only while in international English. The American Heritage Guide writes that, "while using whilst runs the risk of sounding pretentious, it can sometimes add a literary or ironically formal note to a piece of writing".

Translations

Further reading

• while on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• whilst in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “whilst”, in Online Etymology Dictionary
• “whilst”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: w?st, IPA^(key): /w?st/ or enPR: hw?st, IPA^(key): /??st/ (in Scottish English and some English accents)
• Rhymes: -?st
• Homophone: wist (in accents with the wine-whine merger)

Etymology 1

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “what does this have to do with silence”)

Noun

whist (countable and uncountable, plural whists)

1. Any of several four-player card games, similar to bridge.
2. A session of playing this card game.

Derived terms

• German whist
• long whist
• Russian whist
• short whist
• solo whist

Translations

See also

• whist on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• whist in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Etymology 2

From Middle English whist (“silent”), possibly onomatopoeic.

Interjection

whist

1. Alternative spelling of whisht. Silence!, quiet!, hush!, shhh!, shush!

Verb

whist (third-person singular simple present whists, present participle whisting, simple past and past participle whisted)

1. (transitive, rare) To hush, shush, or whisht; to still.
2. (intransitive, rare) To become silent.

Adjective

whist (comparative more whist, superlative most whist)

1. (rare) Silent, husht.
   • c. 1610-11, William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act I, Scene ii^[2]:

     Come unto these yellow sands, / And then take hands: / Courtsied when you have and kiss'd / The wild waves whist, / Foot it featly here and there; / And, sweet sprites, the burthen bear. […]

Anagrams

• Whits, swith, whits, wisht, withs

Czech

Etymology

Borrowed from English whist.

Noun

whist m

1. whist

Danish

Etymology

From English whist.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vest/, [??esd?]
• Homophones: vidst, vist

Noun

whist c (singular definite whisten, not used in plural form)

1. whist (a card game)

Inflection

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English whist.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wist/

Noun

whist m (uncountable)

1. whist

Further reading

• “whist” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from English whist.

Noun

whist m (invariable)

1. whist (card game)