Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Whither?

\Whith"er\, adv. [OE. whider. AS. hwider; akin to E. where, who; cf. Goth. hvadr[=e] 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. Usage: {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?''