Meantime

Meantime

Noun / Adverb · /ˈmiːn.taɪm/

Definition

(Noun) the intervening time — the time between two events; (Adverb, in the meantime / meantime) during the intervening period; meanwhile.

Origin

From mean (Middle English mene, from Old French moyen, from Latin medianus, middle, from medius, middle) + time. Meantime literally means middle time — the time in the middle between two events. The same Latin medius root gives medium, median, mediate, and Mediterranean. In the meantime is the standard phrase; meantime alone as an adverb is also correct. Meanwhile is synonymous but has a slightly different emphasis — while implying a concurrent activity.