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whither

1. To what place; used interrogatively; as, whither goest thou? Whider may I flee? 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. Any whither, in hope of life eternal. . No whither, to no place; nowhere.

Synonym: 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?

Origin: OE. Whider. AS. Hwider; akin to E. Where, who; cf. Goth. Hvadre whither. See Who, and cf. Hither, Thither.