Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

While \While\, prep.
   Until; till. [Obs. or Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

         I may be conveyed into your chamber; I'll lie under
         your bed while midnight.                 --Beau. & Fl.

While \While\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Whiled}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Whiling}.]
   To cause to pass away pleasantly or without irksomeness or
   disgust; to spend or pass; -- usually followed by away.

         The lovely lady whiled the hours away.   --Longfellow.

While \While\, n. [AS. hw[=i]l; akin to OS. hw[=i]l, hw[=i]la,
   OFries. hw[=i]le, D. wigl, G. weile, OHG. w[=i]la, hw[=i]la,
   hw[=i]l, Icel. hv[=i]la a bed, hv[=i]ld rest, Sw. hvila, Dan.
   hvile, Goth. hweila a time, and probably to L. quietus quiet,
   and perhaps to Gr. ? the proper time of season. [root]20. Cf.
   {Quiet}, {Whilom}.]
   1. Space of time, or continued duration, esp. when short; a
      time; as, one while we thought him innocent. ``All this
      while.'' --Shak.

            This mighty queen may no while endure. --Chaucer.

            [Some guest that] hath outside his welcome while,
            And tells the jest without the smile. --Coleridge.

            I will go forth and breathe the air a while.
                                                  --Longfellow.

   2. That which requires time; labor; pains. [Obs.]

            Satan . . . cast him how he might quite her while.
                                                  --Chaucer.

   {At whiles}, at times; at intervals.

            And so on us at whiles it falls, to claim Powers
            that we dread.                        --J. H.
                                                  Newman.
      

   {The while}, {The whiles}, in or during the time that;
      meantime; while. --Tennyson.

   {Within a while}, in a short time; soon.

   {Worth while}, worth the time which it requires; worth the
      time and pains; hence, worth the expense; as, it is not
      always worth while for a man to prosecute for small debts.

While \While\, v. i.
   To loiter. [R.] --Spectator.

While \While\, conj.
   1. During the time that; as long as; whilst; at the same time
      that; as, while I write, you sleep. ``While I have time
      and space.'' --Chaucer.

            Use your memory; you will sensibly experience a
            gradual improvement, while you take care not to
            overload it.                          --I. Watts.

   2. Hence, under which circumstances; in which case; though;
      whereas.

   {While as}, {While that}, during or at the time that. [Obs.]

Source : WordNet®

while
     n : a period of indeterminate length (usually short) marked by
         some action or condition; "he was here for a little
         while"; "I need to rest for a piece"; "a spell of good
         weather"; "a patch of bad weather" [syn: {piece}, {spell},
          {patch}]

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

while
     
         The {loop} construct found in nearly all
        {imperative} programming languages which executes one or more
        instructions (the "loop body") repeatedly so long as some
        condition evaluates to true.  In contrast to a {repeat} loop,
        the loop body will not be executed at all if the condition is
        false on entry to the while.
     
        For example, in {C}, a while loop is written
     
        	while () ;
     
        where  is any expression and  is any
        statement, including a compound statement within braces
         "{..}".
     
        (1995-03-14)