In the 18th century, the Swedish government made coffee and its paraphernalia (including cups and dishes) illegal for its supposed ties to rebellious sentiment.
WHITHER
Etymology
Adverb
whither (not comparable)
(archaic, formal, poetic or literary) To what place.
Usage notes
• This word is unusual in modern usage; (to) where is much more common. It is more often encountered in older works or when used poetically.
• It is also sometimes used as a rhetorical device by journalists and other writers in headlines, with the meaning "What will the future bring for ..."
• Do not confuse with whether or wither.
• Compare to the inanimate pronoun "whereto" which follows the pattern of "preposition + what" or "preposition + which".
Antonyms
• whence
Verb
whither (third-person singular simple present whithers, present participle whithering, simple past and past participle whithered)
(intransitive, obsolete, dialectal) To wuther.
Source: Wiktionary
Whith"er, adv. Etym: [OE. whider. AS. hwider; akin to E. where, who; cf. Goth. hvadre whither. See Who, and cf. Hither, Thither.]
1. To what place; -- used interrogatively; as, whither goest thou "Whider may I flee" Chaucer. Sir Valentine, whither away so fast Shak.
2. To what or which place; -- used relatively. That no man should know . . . whither that he went. Chaucer. We came unto the land whither thou sentest us. Num. xiii. 27.
3. To what point, degree, end, conclusion, or design; whereunto; whereto; -- used in a sense not physical. Nor have I . . . whither to appeal. Milton. Any whither, to any place; anywhere. [Obs.] "Any whither, in hope of life eternal." Jer. Taylor.
– No whither, to no place; nowhere. [Obs.] 2 Kings v. 25.
Syn.
– Where.
– Whither, Where. Whither properly implies motion to place, and where rest in a place. Whither is now, however, to a great extent, obsolete, except in poetry, or in compositions of a grave and serious character and in language where precision is required. Where has taken its place, as in the question, "Where are you going"
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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