See also: weile and wèile

German

edit

Alternative forms

edit

Etymology

edit

From Middle High German wīle, from Old High German wīla, from Proto-West Germanic *hwīlu.

Cognate with Danish hvile (rest), Norwegian Bokmål hvile (rest), Old Norse hvíld (rest, pause), Gothic 𐍈𐌴𐌹𐌻𐌰 (ƕeila, interval, time period), English while.

Pronunciation

edit

Noun

edit

Weile f (genitive Weile, plural Weilen, diminutive Weilchen n)

  1. while (uncertain duration of time, period of time)
    Darf ich auch mal eine Weile damit fahren?
    Would you let me ride it for a while?

Usage notes

edit

The plural is rarely used.

Declension

edit
edit

Further reading

edit
  • Weile” in Duden online
  • Weile” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache