handwhile means A little while; a moment, an instant. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “handwhile” is a great word
HANDWHILE — [Noun] A very short period of time; a moment or instant. From Middle English handwhile, from Old English handhwīl, from hand ("hand") + hwīl ("while, period of time"). Unlike a "while" (which stretches indefinitely) or a "second" (which is precise and metronomic), a handwhile is an archaic, human-scaled measure—the approximate duration of turning one's hand. It is the brief pressure of a farewell grasp before release, the silence between two notes of a nightingale's song, or the span between a match-strike and its ignition—a testament to how we once understood time not as ticks, but as the body's own quiet completions.
noun
- A little while; a moment, an instant.“Yea, mine owne sayings are every hand-while alleadged against my selfe, when God wot I perceive it not.”