whither

From Old English hwider, from Proto-Germanic *hwi-.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈʍɪðɚ/; enPR: hwĭthʹər
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈʍɪðə/

• Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -ɪðə(ɹ)
• Homophone: wither (in accents with the wine-whine merger)

whither (not comparable)

1. (archaic, formal, poetic or literary) To where.
   • 1611, King James Bible‎^Wikisource, John 8:14:

     Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.

   • 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, “The Sea-chest”, in Treasure Island‎^Wikisource:

     [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.

• 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".

• whence

• hither
• thither

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

1. (intransitive, obsolete, dialectal) To wuther.