The Latin word raptus came to our language as a time, a term that can be used to name a short period of time. For example: "I was chatting with Juan for a while, I noticed that he was very enthusiastic about the project" , "Stay calm, in a while I'll go home and we'll talk about it" , "I'm sorry, but Manuel left the office a while ago" .
There is no precise definition of how much time is equal to a "while . " It can be five minutes, ten minutes, half an hour or even a couple of hours, depending on the context and on each occasion. The concept, precisely, is used when the time that elapsed is not known exactly.
If the time that cannot be estimated is very short, talk about a "little while" : "In a little while I'll finish this report and I'll pick you up" , "The baby cried for a little while but soon fell asleep . "
The word that occupies us has given rise to a long list of adverbial phrases that we use frequently such as "in a little while", "for a while", "to pass the time" or "from time to time".
Time can also be satisfaction or discomfort that is temporary or ephemeral: "The truth is that we had a nice time last night" , "Because of Rubén we had a bad time" , "I am very angry with you, yesterday you gave me a bad time ” .
A “free time” , on the other hand, is the moment that a person has at their disposal to do what they want, without obligations or commitments: “When I have free time, I will take Mary to have an ice cream” , “ In my spare time I usually read science fiction novels " , " I haven't had a free time for several days to watch a bit of television . "
Likewise, it should not be forgotten that, according to the RAE, the term while can also be used to refer to the male rat or even a mouse.
In addition to all the above, we cannot ignore the existence of other terms that use the word at hand. Thus, for example, we find the so-called marriage while, which is collected in the RAE. To which it refers? To a marriage that has been celebrated in an absolutely legitimate and, of course, solemn way but that has not yet been consummated, that is to say, that the people who have married have not yet had sexual relations.
Rato is also a surname. Thus, in Spain, there are well-known characters who have it, as would be the case of Rodrigo Rato. This is a politician from the Popular Party (PP), who served as minister during the period in the government of José María Aznar and who was in charge of the Bankia financial group. He is currently on the front pages of the world media because a myriad of alleged crimes he has committed, such as tax fraud, money laundering or property hoisting, have begun to uncover. A long list of events that have brought down his public image and that are being thoroughly investigated, leading to the emergence of new information on the matter practically daily.