hwilum

Old English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *hwīlum, dative plural of hwīl.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈxwiː.lum/, [ˈʍiː.lum]

Adverb

hwīlum

  1. sometimes
    • 10th century, Exeter Book Riddle 24[1]:
      Iċ eom wunderliċu wiht, wrǣsne mīne stefne, hwīlum beorce swā hund, hwīlum blǣte swā gāt, hwīlum grǣde swā gōs, hwīlum ġielle swā hafoc,…
      I am a wonderful thing, change my voice, sometimes bark like a hound, sometimes bleat like a goat, sometimes cry like a goose, sometimes yell like a hawk,…
  2. once (at some point in the past)
    • 10th century, The Wanderer:
      honda ond hēafod, · swā hē hwīlum ǣr
      in ġeārdagum · ġiefstōlas brēac.
      hands and head, like he once before,
      in days of yore, enjoyed gifts of throne.
    • Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church
      Hwīlon cōm sē deofol, on ānre dīgelnysse, mid purpuran ġescrȳd, and mid helme ġeglenġd, tō ðām hālgan were, þǣr hē hine ġebǣd, and cwæð, þæt hē wǣre witodlīċe sē Hǣlend.
      Once the Devil came, shrouded in a purple garment and adorned with a crown, to the holy man in a recess where he was praying, and said that he was truly the Savior.

Descendants

  • English: whilom