eldertongue

Old English · adverb

ealle hwile

Part of speech
adverb
IPA
/ˈæ͜ɑl.le ˈxwiː.le/
[ˈæ͜ɑɫ.ɫe ˈʍiː.le]
Syllables
ˈæ͜ɑl · le · ˈxwiː · le (4 syllables)
Modern English
all the while

Meaning

  1. the whole time

    Þā fēng Philippus tō Mæcedonia rīċe, and hit ealle hwīle on miċelum plēo and on miċelum earfoþum hæfde.

    Then Philip came to the throne of Macedon, and held it the whole time in great danger and struggle.

    late 9th century, translation of Orosius’ History Against the Pagans

Etymology

Dates back at least to Proto-West Germanic *allā hwīlā. Cognate with Old High German alla wīla. One of many fossilized phrases that became idiomatic when the language developed a definite article. Compare ealne dæġ, ealle niht, and ealne weġ.

Descendants

all the while

Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ealle_hwile · CC BY-SA 4.0 licence · Attribution · Report a problem with this entry