86
Middle English Whilom
as whilom , consisting of erst (the superlative of OE ǣ r ‘formerly’; see Brinton
2012 ) plus while. Webster’s dictionary of English usage (henceforth Webster’s )
(s.v.v. erstwhile , quondam , whilom ) notes the adverbial use of erstwhile from
the fi fteenth century but sees the adjectival use as having “a somewhat mysteri-
ous and confused history.” The adjectival use appears to be an early twentieth-
century innovation; the earliest such use Webster’s identifi es is 1901.
Whilom and erstwhile belong to a larger set of temporal adverbs, including
late , then , after , before , now , sometime and soonest , as well as complex forms
such as aforetime , long- ago , long- time , one- time , short- time , today , and two-
time , which have developed adjectival uses.^17 As Webster’s notes, these “do
not look like other English adjectives”: “Although frequently seized on for the
syntactic convenience it affords, [such a form] mostly grates on our linguistic
instinct ... [The forms] have largely preserved their adverbial character, owing
to the fact that they do not suggest any equivalent adjective” (Poutsma 1926 :
698– 699; cf. also Quirk et al. 1985 : 453). As discussed in Brinton ( 2002 ),
these adjectival forms are morphosyntactically limited: (a) they may occur
only in attributive, not in predicative position; and (b) they are not susceptible
to infl ection for degree, modifi cation by intensifi ers, or the usual derivational
affi xation expected of adjectives (e.g., - ly , - ness , un- ).
Where and how does adjectival whilom arise? The fi rst citation in the OED
(s.v. whilom , def. 2b) is 1452. I have found several earlier examples (1 in
Gower and 6 in Chaucer):
(9) a. I fi nde a tale in proprete,/ Hou Dorus whilom king of Grece (1390 Gower,
Confessio amantis 5.1336– 37)
‘I fi nd a tale in particular (in regard to this) how Dorus former king of
Greece’
b. This riche Cresus, whilom kyng of Lyde (1387– 1400 Chaucer, CT
B.Mk. 2727)
‘This rich Croesus former king of Lydia’
c. “O paleis, whilom crowne of houses alle” (1380– 86 Chaucer, TC V.547)
‘Oh palace, former crown of all houses’
d. I, youre Alceste, whilom quene of Trace (c1386 Chaucer, Legend of good
women G.422)
‘I your Alcestis, former queen of Thrace’
The adjectival use remains at a very low level (based on EEBO and OED evi-
dence) in Early Modern English (10), but it becomes the predominant use
in the Late Modern period (11). In earlier examples, whilom could denote a
deceased person (see 10a and 10e, but this usage is now obsolete (OED, s.v.
whilom , def. 2b):
17 Similarly, in German , adverbs such as damals and ehemals have acquired adjectival uses.