top definitions
related content
examples
british

whilom

[ hwahy-luh m, wahy- ]

/ ˈʰwaɪ ləm, ˈwaɪ- /

Archaic.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR whilom ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

former; erstwhile: whilom friends.

adverb

at one time.

Origin of whilom

before 900; Middle English; Old English hwīlum at times, dative plural of hwīl while (noun)

Words nearby whilom

while there's life there's hope, while there's life, there's hope, whiles, whilk, whillikers, whilom, whilst, whim, whim-wham, whimbrel, whimper

Example sentences from the Web for whilom

It was Ezekiel Leven, his whilom lieutenant, with whom he had dreamed of Maccabean deeds.

Ghetto Comedies |Israel Zangwill
Perley was a man of small renown, a lawyer, politician and a whilom friend of Terry.

Port O' Gold |Louis John Stellman
The whilom islands convey in quite a picturesque way the lesson that human works must die like the hands that fashioned them.

Monumental Java |J. F. Scheltema
He was not doubtful of me, not then, but of human nature in general; that whilom noble edifice was tottering.

The Little White Bird |J. M. Barrie

The whilom pirate contributes his ill-gotten gains to the crusade.

Georges Guynemer |Henry Bordeaux

British Dictionary definitions for whilom

whilom

/ (ˈwaɪləm) archaic /

adverb

formerly; once

adjective

(prenominal) one-time; former

Word Origin for whilom

Old English hwīlum, dative plural of hwīl while; related to Old High German hwīlōm, German weiland of old