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"while" is also used as a crossword clue. If that's what you saw, the answer is often as (2 letters).
Definitions
A period of time or during the time that something happens.
Word origin
From Middle English whyle, from Old English hwīl, from Proto-West Germanic *hwīlu, from Proto-Germanic *hwīlō (compare Dutch wijl, Low German Wiel, German Weile, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål hvile (“rest”), Norwegian Nynorsk kvila (“rest”), Swedish vila (“rest”), Faroese and Icelandic hvíla (“rest”)) from Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- (“to rest”). Cognate with Albanian sillë (“breakfast”), Latin tranquillus, Sanskrit चिर (cirá), Persian شاد (šâd).
Used in a sentence
“He lectured for quite a long while.”
“It’s a long while since anyone lived there, so it’s a ruin now.”
“Do the good that's nearest Though it's dull at whiles.”
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Used as a crossword answer2 curated clues
01“Brief spell”5 letters
02“Short time”5 letters
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