Whilst vs Yet - What's the difference?
whilst | yet |
(British, rare or literary in North America) While, at the same time.
* {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
, chapter=17 (dialectal) To melt; found; cast, as metal.
More at aye and .
(usually with negative) Thus far; up to the present; up to some specified time.
Continuously up to the current time; still.
* Addison
At some future time; eventually.
* Shakespeare
(after certain copulative verbs, followed by an infinitive) Not as of the time referenced.
In addition.
* , chapter=10
, title= * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=September 18, author=Ben Dirs, work=BBC Sport
, title= (degree) Even.
* Francis Bacon
Nevertheless; however; but; despite that.
*
*
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-05-25, volume=407, issue=8837, page=74, magazine=(The Economist)
, title=
As conjunctions the difference between whilst and yet
is that whilst is (british|rare or literary in north america) while, at the same time while yet is nevertheless; however; but; despite that.As a verb yet is
(dialectal) to melt; found; cast, as metal.As a noun yet is
(dialectal) a metal pan or boiler; yetling.As an adverb yet is
(usually with negative) thus far; up to the present; up to some specified time.whilst
English
Alternative forms
* whilest (obsolete) * whylst (obsolete) * whylest (obsolete)Conjunction
(English Conjunctions)citation, passage=The face which emerged was not reassuring. It was blunt and grey, the nose springing thick and flat from high on the frontal bone of the forehead, whilst his eyes were narrow slits of dark in a tight bandage of tissue. […].}}
Usage notes
* Mostly restrained to use in . * Rare in North America and may be considered archaic, pedantic or pompous.References
* (while) * *yet
English
(wikipedia yet)Etymology 1
From (etyl) yeten, from (etyl) . More at (l).Alternative forms
* (l) * (l) (obsolete)Verb
(yett)Etymology 2
From (etyl) yet, yit, from (etyl) .Anatoly Liberman, An Analytic Dictionary of English Etymology: An Introduction'', s.v. “yet” (Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 2008), xlvi.Marlies Philippa et al., eds., ''Etymologisch Woordenboek van het Nederlands , A-Z, s.v. “ooit” (Amsterdam UP, 3 Dec. 2009):Adverb
(-)- facts they had heard while they were yet heathens
- He'll be hanged yet .
The Mirror and the Lamp, passage=It was a joy to snatch some brief respite, and find himself in the rectory drawing–room. Listening here was as pleasant as talking; just to watch was pleasant. The young priests who lived here wore cassocks and birettas; their faces were fine and mild, yet really strong, like the rector's face; and in their intercourse with him and his wife they seemed to be brothers.}}
Rugby World Cup 2011: England 41-10 Georgia, passage=After yet another missed penalty by Kvirikashvili from bang in front of the posts, England scored again, centre Tuilagi flying into the line and touching down under the bar.}}
- Men may not too rashly believe the confessions of witches, nor yet the evidence against them.
Derived terms
* not yetReferences
Conjunction
(English Conjunctions)- Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers, of errand not wholly obvious to their fellows, yet of such sort as to call into query alike the nature of their errand and their own relations. It is easily earned repetition to state that Josephine St. Auban's was a presence not to be concealed.
- Thus the red damask curtains which now shut out the fog-laden, drizzling atmosphere of the Marylebone Road, had cost a mere song, and yet they might have been warranted to last another thirty years. A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor;.
No hiding place, passage=In America alone, people spent $170 billion on “direct marketing”—junk mail of both the physical and electronic varieties—last year. Yet of those who received unsolicited adverts through the post, only 3% bought anything as a result.}}