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whilom

[hwahy-luh m, wahy-]Archaic.
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adjective
  1. former; erstwhile: whilom friends.
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adverb
  1. at one time.
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Origin of whilom

before 900; Middle English; Old English hwīlum at times, dative plural of hwīl while (noun)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for whilom

Historical Examples

  • We may misuse it, but we can scarce do worse in this respect than our whilom masters.

    The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 1995, Memorial Issue

    Various

  • Why should this man, this whilom friend of his, have everything?

  • Not only should they covenant to give no aid to the whilom??

  • He was sorry to hear that his whilom chums, the "captain" and "lieutenant," were ill.

  • Selma, my whilom Finnish friend, was having her banns published.

    The Confession of a Fool

    August Strindberg

British Dictionary definitions for whilom

whilom

adverb
  1. formerly; once
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adjective
  1. (prenominal) one-time; former
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Word Origin

Old English hwīlum, dative plural of hwīl while; related to Old High German hwīlōm, German weiland of old
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for whilom

adv.

"at time past" (archaic), c.1200, from Old English hwilum "at times," dative case of while (q.v.). Cf. German weiland "formerly."

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper