from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Whither \Whith"er\, adv. [OE. whider. AS. hwider; akin to E.
where, who; cf. Goth. hvadr[=e] whither. See {Who}, and cf.
{Hither}, {Thither}.]
[1913 Webster]
1. To what place; -- used interrogatively; as, whither goest
thou? "Whider may I flee?" --Chaucer.
[1913 Webster]
Sir Valentine, whither away so fast? --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
2. To what or which place; -- used relatively.
[1913 Webster]
That no man should know . . . whither that he went.
--Chaucer.
[1913 Webster]
We came unto the land whither thou sentest us.
--Num. xiii.
27.
[1913 Webster]
3. To what point, degree, end, conclusion, or design;
whereunto; whereto; -- used in a sense not physical.
[1913 Webster]
Nor have I . . . whither to appeal. --Milton.
[1913 Webster]
{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.
[1913 Webster]
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?"
[1913 Webster]
[1913 Webster]