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



RESET




Word of the Day

14 June 2025

FELLOW

(noun) a member of a learned society; “he was elected a fellow of the American Physiological Association”


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

Coffee dates back to the 9th century. Goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats seem to be “dancing” after eating berries from a particular shrub. They reported it to the local monastery, and a monk made a drink out of it. The monk found out he felt energized and kept him awake at night. That’s how the first coffee drink was born.

coffee icon