whither
English
Etymology
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From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old English hwider, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Germanic *hwi-.
Pronunciation
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Audio (US): (file) - Rhymes: -ɪðə(ɹ)
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Adverb
whither (not comparable)
- (archaic, formal, poetic or literary) To what 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.
- 1918, Willa Cather, My Antonia, Mirado Modern Classics, paperback edition, page 8
- The wagon jolted on, carrying me I knew not whither.
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.
- Do not confuse with whether or wither.
- Compare to the inanimate pronoun "whereto" which follows the pattern of "preposition + what" or "preposition + which".
Antonyms
Derived terms
Terms derived from whither
Related terms
Translations
to which place
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Verb
whither (third-person singular simple present whithers, present participle whithering, simple past and past participle whithered)
- (intransitive, obsolete, dialectal) To wuther.
Categories:
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɪðə(ɹ)
- English lemmas
- English adverbs
- English uncomparable adverbs
- English terms with archaic senses
- English formal terms
- English poetic terms
- English literary terms
- English terms with quotations
- English verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English dialectal terms
- English interrogative adverbs