Whilhome ... make that Whilome = Once Upon a Time

Not much of a topic for a thread. Just found it interesting there was once a word that stood for "Once Upon a Time." Classic start to a lot of fairy tales of yore. Figured I'd share the astounding discovery ;-)

A poem that starts off with the word for anyone interested:

http://www.poetrynook.com/poem/whilhome-provance-were-they-knew-same

(Kinda interesting that there is/was a word, period, that stood for 4 separate words. Are there other words that do likewise these days?)

Of course it is possible that whilhome came first and once upon a time arose from it when it was no longer in fashion.

King Neptune said:

Other than that poem have you found any references of that word? [/URL]

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Lord Byron's poem, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. Am reading it now. An explanatory note told of the meaning. (Norton Anthology.)

Whilome in Albion's isle there dwelt a youth,
Who ne in virtue's ways did take delight;
But spent his days in riot most uncouth,
And vexed with mirth the drowsy ear of Night.
Ah, me! in sooth he was a shameless wight,

Opps. Spelling. Got it wrong. Took it off the internet, instead of directly from the source. Sorry !

Whilome. Not Whilhome. (Will correct title.)

Right you are. Misspelling indeed ...

Marlys said:

Yeah, the website misspells it in the poem's title--in the first line it's 'whilome,' variant spelling of 'whilom.' Which, according to the OED, was used right up into the late 19th century, with various shades of meaning including 'while,' 'whiles,' 'formerly,' 'late,' 'at times,' 'once,' and, yes, 'once upon a time.'

Cool word!

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Yep. This is a really neat intro. Never yet encountered ...

Kylabelle said:

"in the time that was and was not".

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