BF2S Forums Someone please explain... (why do people use the word "whilst")

geNius wrote:

This is a random rant:

Who, on God's green earth actually uses the word "whilst" in everyday conversation?

Does anyone realize it's a Middle English word meaning "while", and that it has no place in today's English?

Why the F' do I see it appear in so many nonsensical forum posts?!

Thank you, that is all.

This is like asking "What's the point of synonyms?" Using "whilst" sounds more eloquent, and as it takes more effort to say than "while", it serves to break up a monotonous sentence and creates diversity in language. It's the same reason why you say "I received a letter in the mail" as opposed to "I got a letter in the mail."

Last edited by Vub (2007-04-26 18:57:23)

geNius wrote:

This is a random rant:

Who, on God's green earth actually uses the word "whilst" in everyday conversation?

Does anyone realize it's a Middle English word meaning "while", and that it has no place in today's English?

Why the F' do I see it appear in so many nonsensical forum posts?!

Thank you, that is all.

it's a Euro thing. like "bugger' is a Euro thing.

it's like, why do they drive on the opposite side of the road in europe? who knows, it's just what they do over there

Depends on the seriousness of the post, but I don't use it in real life.

Scorpion0x17 wrote:

'While' and 'Whilst' do not mean the same thing. Get yourself a decent English dictionary.

KylieTastic wrote:

By what source do you do you say this? I just checked both my Collins and Chambers Dictionaries and neither say its archaic or in-proper.

in-proper = improper?


http://dict.die.net/whilst/
Whilst \Whilst\, adv. [From Whiles; cf. Amongst.]
   While. [Archaic]

http://www.askoxford.com/results/?view= … type=exact
whilst

  • conjunction & adverb chiefly Brit. while.

I'm guessing you guys don't consider Oxford to be a good source.

PS - This thread went much further than I wanted it to.  I simply intended to poke fun at the word.

geNius wrote:

Scorpion0x17 wrote:

'While' and 'Whilst' do not mean the same thing. Get yourself a decent English dictionary.

KylieTastic wrote:

By what source do you do you say this? I just checked both my Collins and Chambers Dictionaries and neither say its archaic or in-proper.

in-proper = improper?


http://dict.die.net/whilst/
Whilst \Whilst\, adv. [From Whiles; cf. Amongst.]
   While. [Archaic]

http://www.askoxford.com/results/?view= … type=exact
whilst

  • conjunction & adverb chiefly Brit. while.

I'm guessing you guys don't consider Oxford to be a good source.

PS - This thread went much further than I wanted it to.  I simply intended to poke fun at the word.

If that were the full OED (Oxford English Dictionary), then yeah, I'd accept it, but it isn't.

The essence of the difference between 'while' and 'whilst' comes to down to context - 'while' is temporal (at the same time), 'whilst' is more spatial (amongst).

Last edited by Scorpion0x17 (2007-04-28 06:33:15)

[1stSSF]=Nuka= wrote:

Riddick51PB wrote:

it's like, why do they drive on the opposite side of the road in europe? who knows, it's just what they do over there

umm...you do know that it's the Brits that drive on the opposite side and not all Europeans, right?

And on topic, I'll throw my hat in with the "why do you care?" crowd...

No, it's everybody else that drives on the opposite side of the road - we drive on the correct side.