while

while
    n 1: a period of indeterminate length (usually short) marked by
         some action or condition; "he was here for a little while";
         "I need to rest for a piece"; "a spell of good weather"; "a
         patch of bad weather" [syn: {while}, {piece}, {spell},
         {patch}]
    

While \While\, n. [AS. hw[imac]l; akin to OS. hw[imac]l,
   hw[imac]la, OFries. hw[imac]le, D. wigl, G. weile, OHG.
   w[imac]la, hw[imac]la, hw[imac]l, Icel. hv[imac]la a bed,
   hv[imac]ld rest, Sw. hvila, Dan. hvile, Goth. hweila a time,
   and probably to L. quietus quiet, and perhaps to Gr. ? the
   proper time of season. [root]20. Cf. {Quiet}, {Whilom}.]
   1. Space of time, or continued duration, esp. when short; a
      time; as, one while we thought him innocent. "All this
      while." --Shak.
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            This mighty queen may no while endure. --Chaucer.
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            [Some guest that] hath outside his welcome while,
            And tells the jest without the smile. --Coleridge.
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            I will go forth and breathe the air a while.
                                                  --Longfellow.
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   2. That which requires time; labor; pains. [Obs.]
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            Satan . . . cast him how he might quite her while.
                                                  --Chaucer.
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   {At whiles}, at times; at intervals.
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            And so on us at whiles it falls, to claim
            Powers that we dread.                 --J. H.
                                                  Newman.
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   {The while}, {The whiles}, in or during the time that;
      meantime; while. --Tennyson.

   {Within a while}, in a short time; soon.

   {Worth while}, worth the time which it requires; worth the
      time and pains; hence, worth the expense; as, it is not
      always worth while for a man to prosecute for small debts.
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While \While\, v. i.
   To loiter. [R.] --Spectator.
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While \While\, conj.
   1. During the time that; as long as; whilst; at the same time
      that; as, while I write, you sleep. "While I have time and
      space." --Chaucer.
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            Use your memory; you will sensibly experience a
            gradual improvement, while you take care not to
            overload it.                          --I. Watts.
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   2. Hence, under which circumstances; in which case; though;
      whereas.
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   {While as}, {While that}, during or at the time that. [Obs.]
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While \While\, prep.
   Until; till. [Obs. or Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
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         I may be conveyed into your chamber;
         I'll lie under your bed while midnight.  --Beau. & Fl.
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While \While\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Whiled}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Whiling}.]
   To cause to pass away pleasantly or without irksomeness or
   disgust; to spend or pass; -- usually followed by away.
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         The lovely lady whiled the hours away.   --Longfellow.
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while

   <programming> The {loop} construct found in nearly all
   {procedural languages} which executes one or more instructions
   (the "loop body") repeatedly so long as some {condition}
   evaluates to true.  In contrast to a {repeat} loop, the loop
   body will not be executed at all if the condition is false on
   entry to the while.

   For example, in {C}, a while loop is written

   	while (<expr>) <statement>;

   where <expr> is any expression and <statement> is any
   statement, including a compound statement within braces
    "{..}".

   (1995-03-14)
    

63 Moby Thesaurus words for "while":
      albeit, although, amuse, as far as, as long as, at which time,
      beguile, bit, brighten, chronology, continuity, day, divert,
      duration, duree, during which time, elbow grease, enliven,
      entertain, exertion, fateful moment, hour, howbeit, instant,
      interval, juncture, kairos, lastingness, lighten, meantime,
      meanwhile, minute, moment, moment of truth, pains, period, point,
      pregnant moment, psychological moment, psychological time, season,
      space, space-time, span, spell, stage, stretch, tense, term,
      the future, the past, the present, the while, tide, time, time lag,
      timebinding, trouble, when, whereas, whet, whilst, wile