Category:Whither

Whith"er, adv. Etym: [oe. whider. As. hwider; akin to e. where, who; Cf. Goth. hvadre 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. -- 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"