whither

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English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English whider, from Old English hwider, alteration of hwæder, from Proto-Germanic *hwadrê.

Adverb[edit]

whither (not comparable)

  1. (archaic, formal, poetic or literary) To what place.
    • 1611, King James BibleWikisource, John 8:14:
      Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.
    • 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.
    • 1918, Willa Cather, My Antonia, Mirado Modern Classics, paperback edition, page 8
      The wagon jolted on, carrying me I knew not whither.
  2. (informal, humorous) Into what future state; where next.
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Etymology 2[edit]

See wuther.

Verb[edit]

whither (third-person singular simple present whithers, present participle whithering, simple past and past participle whithered)

  1. (intransitive, obsolete, dialectal) To wuther.