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What is the grammatical name and function for the highlighted clause?

When we were about half-way through, I suddenly put my hand upon her arm, for I had heard in the silent frosty air a sound that brought my heart into my mouth—the tap-tapping of the blind man's stick upon the frozen road. It drew nearer and nearer while we sat holding our breath.

Treasure Island, ch. 4.

Is it adverbial clause or adjectival clause?

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    You haven't supplied a full sentence, but normally it would be a preposition phrase functioning as a temporal adjunct in some larger construction. For those who take it as a conjunction it is a subordinating one, and the expression is a finite subordinate clause.
    – BillJ
    Commented Nov 10, 2020 at 9:03
  • A clause forms part of a larger sentence and thus any analysis as to what type a clause is makes sense only within the framework of that sentence. while is usually a subordinating conjunction and thus starts a separate clause. This might apply to while we sat holding our breath too.
    – user403195
    Commented Nov 10, 2020 at 9:15
  • Semantically (which you don't ask) this usage of 'while' is interesting. Although there is a major temporal thrust, there is certainly a causative implication also. 'John washed the dishes, while we sat holding our breath' doesn't work without prior context such as 'Father came into the room. Had he heard the news?' Or 'We knew we shouldn't have used the priceless Wedgewood porcelain.'
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Nov 10, 2020 at 11:35
  • My interpretation was based on the primary meaning of "while", i.e. temporal. "While" also has a secondary meaning expressing contrast in a similar way to "whereas" or "(al)though, as in "While/though the main course was excellent, the dessert was disappointing". Again, the word category may be a preposition, or for some a subordinating conjunction.
    – BillJ
    Commented Nov 10, 2020 at 12:26

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while we sat holding our breath.

while we sat holding our breath is a free modifier. It modifies the main clause as a whole.

A free modifier differs from a bound modifier in that a bound modifier attaches to only one word or phrase.

From "ThoughtCo."

Definition:

Generally, a free modifier is a phrase or clause that modifies either the main clause or another free modifier. Phrases and clauses that can function as free modifiers include adverb phrases, adverbial clauses, participial phrases, absolute phrases, and resumptive modifiers.

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  • In CGELese, an adjunct.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Jan 7, 2021 at 15:57
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It drew nearer, [while we sat holding our breath].

I've put your example in typical context.

I take "while" to be a preposition, and hence the bracketed expression is a preposition phrase functioning as a temporal adjunct.

For those who take "while" as a conjunction it is a subordinating one, and the expression is a finite subordinate clause.

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