whilom
whil·om/ˈwaɪləm/adverb, adjective, conjunction
whilom is spelled W-H-I-L-O-M: 6 letters and 2 syllables (whil·om). It appears about once in every 46 million words in written English, the 209,386th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, whilom means “At some time in the past; formerly, once upon a time” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in whilom?
| Letters | 6: W-H-I-L-O-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: whil·om |
| In writing | about once in every 46 million words; the 209,386th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is whilom?
Whilom appears about once in every 46 million words in written English, the 209,386th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce whilom?
- UK /ˈwaɪləm/
- US /ˈwaɪləm/
- US /ˈʍaɪ-/
Whilom has 2 syllables, split whil·om in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-whilom.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What does whilom mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
At some time in the past; formerly, once upon a time.
- 2
obsoleteAt times, on occasion, sometimes.
- 3
obsoleterarePreceded by of or this: for some time that has passed.
adjective
- 1
At some time in the past; former, sometime.
- 2
obsoleteOf a person: deceased, late.
conjunction
- 1
During the same time that; while.
- 2
Up to the time that; till, until.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does whilom come from?
From Middle English whilom (“(adverb) at one time, formerly, once; once upon a time; at times, sometimes; at a future time; (conjunction) while”) [and other forms], from Old English hwīlum, hwīlan, hwīlon (“at one time, once; sometimes”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwīlum, the dative plural of *hwīlu (“period of time, time, while; period of rest, pause”), from Proto-Germanic *hwīlō (“period of time, time, while; period of rest, pause”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- (“to rest; peace, rest”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).