whither
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Old English hwæder.
Pronunciation [edit]
- IPA: /ʍɪðɚ/ (before wine-whine merger), IPA: /wɪðɚ/ (with wine=whine merger)
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Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɪðə(r)
Adverb [edit]
whither (not comparable)
- (literary or archaic) To which place.
- 1918, Willa Cather, My Antonia, Mirado Modern Classics, paperback edition, page 8
- The wagon jolted on, carrying me I knew not whither.
- 1918, Willa Cather, My Antonia, Mirado Modern Classics, paperback edition, page 8
Derived terms [edit]
Terms derived from whither
Conjunction [edit]
whither
- (literary or archaic) To which place
- 1611, King James BibleWikisource, John 8:14:
- 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, “The Sea-chest”, in Treasure IslandWikisource:
- [W]hat greatly encouraged me, it was in an opposite direction from that whence the blind man had made his appearance and whither he had presumably returned.
- 1885, Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Penguin Red Classics, paperback edition, page 24
- And with the same grave countenance he hurried through his breakfast and drove to the police station, whither the body had been carried.
Usage notes [edit]
- This word is unusual in modern usage; where is much more common. It is more often encountered in older works, or when used poetically.
- Do not confuse with whether or wither.
Synonyms [edit]
Antonyms [edit]
Related terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
to which place
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Verb [edit]
whither (third-person singular simple present whithers, present participle whithering, simple past and past participle whithered)
- (intransitive, obsolete, dialectal) To wuther.
