whither

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English

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WOTD – 8 May 2024

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English whider (“to what place?; into or to which; to what place, where; no matter where, to wherever”),[1] from Old English hwider, hwæder (“to what place, where”),[2] from Proto-Germanic *hwadrê (“to what place, where”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷos (“what; which”), from *kʷ- (the primary interrogative root).

Adverb

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whither (not comparable) (formal, archaic except literary or poetic)

  1. Interrogative senses.
    1. To what place; where.
      Antonym: whence
      • 1589, T[homas] Nashe, The Anatomie of Absurditie: […], London: […] I[ohn] Charlewood for Thomas Hacket, […], →OCLC, signature E.iii., verso:
        When as wee duely conſider, whether euery way leadeth, or wiſely ponder with our ſelues to what end we refer each one of our actions, and exact of our ſtraying thoughts a more ſeuere account of their wandering courſe, we ſhal find no victory ſo great, as the ſubduing of vice, nothing ſo hard as to liue well, no ſuch vneſtimable iewell, as an honeſt conuerſation: […]
      • c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i], page 32, column 2:
        2. Out. [Second Outlaw] VVhether trauell you? / Val[entine]. To Verona. / 1. Out. [First Outlaw] VVhence came you? / Val. From Millaine.
      • 1697, Virgil, “The Tenth Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 526, lines 943–946:
        O Jove! he cry'd, for vvhat Offence have I / Deſerv'd to bear this endleſs Infamy: / VVhence am I forc'd, and vvhether am I born, / Hovv, and vvith vvhat Reproach ſhall I return?
      • 1722 March, H[enry] F[oe] [pseudonym; Daniel Defoe], A Journal of the Plague Year: […], London: […] E[lizabeth] Nutt […]; J. Roberts […]; A. Dodd […]; and J. Graves […], →OCLC, page 143:
        You vvill go avvay: VVhither vvill you go? and vvhat can you do? I vvould as vvillingly go avvay as you, if I knevv vvhither: But vve have no Acquaintance, no Friends. Here vve vvere born, and here vve muſt die.
      • 1836 February 8, “Boz” [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], “The Great Winglebury Duel”, in Sketches by “Boz,” Illustrative of Every-day Life, and Every-day People. […], volume II, London: John Macrone, […], published 1836, →OCLC, page 241:
        "Whither are we going?" inquired the lady tragically. "How should I know?" replied Trott with singular coolness; for the events of the evening had completely hardened him.
      • 1840 April – 1841 November, Charles Dickens, “Chapter the Twelfth”, in The Old Curiosity Shop. A Tale. […], volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1841, →OCLC, page 156:
        Forth from the city, while it yet slumbered, went the two poor adventurers, wandering they knew not whither.
      • 1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Three. The Second of the Three Spirits.”, in A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 103:
        The Spirit did not tarry here, but bade Scrooge hold his robe, and passing on above the moor, sped whither? Not to sea? To sea. To Scrooge's horror, looking back, he saw the last of the land, a frightful range of rocks, behind them; and his ears were deafened by the thundering of water, as it rolled, and roared, and raged among the dreadful caverns it had worn, and fiercely tried to undermine the earth.
      • 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, “In Which We Meet an Old Acquaintance”, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC, page 571:
        [W]hat was the use of cavalry in a time of profound peace?—and whither the deuce should the hussars ride?
      • 1882, Walter Besant, “The Missing Link”, in All Sorts and Conditions of Men: An Impossible Story […], volume II, London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC, page 136:
        What he did, whither he went, where he died, might be left to conjecture.
    2. (figurative, also humorous) To what (future) cause, condition or state, reason, etc.; where, where next; also (obsolete) to what extent; how far.
      • 1611, Ben[jamin] Jonson, Catiline His Conspiracy, London: […] [William Stansby?] for Walter Burre, →OCLC, Act IIII, signature I3, recto:
        VVhither at length vvilt thou abuſe our patience?
      • 1651 (indicated as 1652), Joseph Hall, “[The Invisible World Discovered to Spiritual Eyes, and Reduced to Useful Meditation. […].] Section IV. The Power of Angels.”, in Josiah Pratt, editor, The Works of the Right Reverend Father in God, Joseph Hall, D.D. […], volume VI (Devotional Works), London: […] C[harles] Whittingham, […]; for Williams and Smith, […], published 1808, →OCLC, 1st book (Of God and His Angels), page 455:
        And, if there fall out any preternatural immutations in the elements, any strange concussations of the earth, any direful prodigies in the sky, whither should they be imputed, but to these mighty angels; whom it pleaseth the Most High God to employ in these extraordinary services?
      • 1818–1819 (date written), Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Prometheus Unbound”, in Prometheus Unbound […], London: C[harles] and J[ames] Ollier […], published 1820, →OCLC, Act III, scene iv, page 117:
        Alas, / Whither has wandered now my partial tongue / When all remains untold which ye would hear?
      • 1848, [Charles Kingsley], “Murder will Out, and Love too”, in Yeast: A Problem. […], London: John W[illiam] Parker, […], published 1851, →OCLC, page 193:
        'Oh, Lancelot, Lancelot! whither are you forcing me?' / 'I am forcing you no-whither. God, the Father of spirits, is leading you! You, who believe in Him, how dare you fight against Him?'
      • 2018 February 9, Tommie Gorman, “Whither now the DUP?”, in Raidió Teilifís Éireann‎[1], archived from the original on 2022-07-01:
        Whither now the DUP [Democratic Unionist Party]? In Westminster, Theresa May's minority government continues to rely on the support of ten DUP members for its very survival. But last week may well have seen the consequences as well as the high point of thumbscrew politics.
  2. Relative senses.
    1. To which place; also (after a noun denoting a place) to which.
    2. To the place in or to which.
    3. (generally) In or to any place to which; to whatever place; wherever.
      Synonym: (archaic) whithersoever
Usage notes
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Derived terms
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Translations
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See also
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Use the following table to determine which adverb to use in a given context. For example, the word hither can be used to mean “to here”, and whence to mean “from where”.

Modern word
Preposition
 here there where
to hither thither whither
from hence thence whence

Noun

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whither (plural whithers)

  1. (formal, archaic except literary or poetic) A place to which someone or something goes; also, a condition to which someone or something moves.
Translations
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Etymology 2

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The verb is borrowed from Scots whidder, whither (“(of the wind) to bluster; to move quickly”),[3] a frequentative form of whid (“(of wind) to gust; to move quickly”), of Scandinavian/North Germanic origin, from Old Norse hviða (“gust of wind”).[4][5][6]

Related to Middle English hwiþa, whyȝt (“breeze; wind”), Old English hwiþa, hwiþu, hweoþu (“breeze”). The noun is derived from the verb.[7]

Verb

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

  2. (transitive)
    1. To cause (someone) to hurry; to hasten, to hurry.
    2. To throw (something) forcefully; to hurl; also, to beat, to thrash.
  3. (intransitive)
    1. To shake (vigorously); to tremble.
    2. To move quickly, to rush, to whiz; also, to make a rushing sound; to whizz.
    3. Of the wind: to blow loudly and vigorously; to bluster; also, of an animal, etc.: to make a loud noise; to bellow, to roar.
Alternative forms
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Translations
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Noun

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whither (plural whithers) (British, dialectal, especially Scotland)

  1. A state of rushed action; a haste, a hurry; also, a state of anger or excitement.
  2. A forceful blow or hit.
  3. An act of shaking (vigorously); a shiver, a tremble; also, a slight bout of discomfort or illness.
  4. The sound of something moving quickly; a rush, a whiz.
  5. A gust of wind; a bluster.
    • 1853 January, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], “Auld Lang Syne”, in Villette. […], volume II, London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], →OCLC, page 8:
      I felt sure now that I was in the pensionnat—sure by the beating rain on the easement; sure by the ‘wuther’ of wind amongst trees, denoting a garden outside; sure by the chill, the whiteness, the solitude, amidst which I lay.
Alternative forms
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Translations
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References

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  1. ^ “whider, adv. & conj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  2. ^ “whither, adv. (and n.2)”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2024; “whither, adv.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  3. ^ “whidder, v., n.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, reproduced from W[illiam] Grant and D[avid] D. Murison, editors, The Scottish National Dictionary, Edinburgh: Scottish National Dictionary Association, 1931–1976, →OCLC.
  4. ^ “whid, n.1, v.1”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, reproduced from W[illiam] Grant and D[avid] D. Murison, editors, The Scottish National Dictionary, Edinburgh: Scottish National Dictionary Association, 1931–1976, →OCLC.
  5. ^ “whither, v.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2024.
  6. ^ “hwiþa, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007; “† whyȝt, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2023.
  7. ^ “whither, n.1”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2024.

Further reading

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