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Whither
Definitions
- 1 Interrogative senses.; To what place; where. not-comparable
"Whither wilt thou wander, wayfarer?"
- 2 Interrogative senses.; To what (future) cause, condition or state, reason, etc.; where, where next; also (obsolete) to what extent; how far. also, figuratively, humorous, not-comparable
"VVhither at length vvilt thou abuſe our patience?"
- 3 Relative senses.; To which place; also (after a noun denoting a place) to which. not-comparable
"[W]e beſche thee, leaue vs not comfortles, but ſende to vs thine holy ghoſt to comfort vs, and exalte vs vnto thy ſame place, whither our ſauiour Chriſte is gone before: […]"
- 4 Relative senses.; To the place in or to which. not-comparable
"And with the same grave countenance he hurried through his breakfast and drove to the police station, whither the body had been carried."
- 5 Relative senses.; In or to any place to which; to whatever place; wherever. not-comparable
"Ah foole, goe vvith thy ſoule vvhither it goes, / A borrovved title haſt thou bought too deare."
- 1 A place to which someone or something goes; also, a condition to which someone or something moves. formal
"To knovv the local beginnings of vvinds, is a thing vvhich requires a deep ſearch and Inquiſition, ſeeing that the VVhence and VVhither of vvinds, are things noted even in Scripture to be abſtruſe and hidden."
- 2 A state of rushed action; a haste, a hurry; also, a state of anger or excitement. British, Scotland, dialectal, especially
- 3 A forceful blow or hit. British, Scotland, dialectal, especially
- 4 An act of shaking (vigorously); a shiver, a tremble; also, a slight bout of discomfort or illness. British, Scotland, dialectal, especially
- 5 The sound of something moving quickly; a rush, a whiz. British, Scotland, dialectal, especially
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- 6 A gust of wind; a bluster. British, Scotland, dialectal, especially
"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."
- 1 To cause (someone) to hurry; to hasten, to hurry. British, Scotland, dialectal, especially, transitive
- 2 To throw (something) forcefully; to hurl; also, to beat, to thrash. British, Scotland, dialectal, especially, transitive
- 3 To shake (vigorously); to tremble. British, Scotland, dialectal, especially, intransitive
- 4 To move quickly, to rush, to whiz; also, to make a rushing sound; to whizz. British, Scotland, dialectal, especially, intransitive
- 5 Of the wind: to blow loudly and vigorously; to bluster; also, of an animal, etc.: to make a loud noise; to bellow, to roar. British, Scotland, dialectal, especially, intransitive
Etymology
From Middle English whider (“to what place?; into or to which; to what place, where; no matter where, to wherever”), from Old English hwider, hwæder (“to what place, where”), from Proto-Germanic *hwadrê (“to what place, where”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷos (“what; which”), from *kʷ- (the primary interrogative root).
From Middle English whider (“to what place?; into or to which; to what place, where; no matter where, to wherever”), from Old English hwider, hwæder (“to what place, where”), from Proto-Germanic *hwadrê (“to what place, where”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷos (“what; which”), from *kʷ- (the primary interrogative root).
The verb is borrowed from Scots whidder, whither (“(of the wind) to bluster; to move quickly”), a frequentative form of whid (“(of wind) to gust; to move quickly”), of Scandinavian/North Germanic origin, from Old Norse hviða (“gust of wind”). Related to Middle English hwiþa, whyȝt (“breeze; wind”), Old English hwiþa, hwiþu, hweoþu (“breeze”). The noun is derived from the verb.
The verb is borrowed from Scots whidder, whither (“(of the wind) to bluster; to move quickly”), a frequentative form of whid (“(of wind) to gust; to move quickly”), of Scandinavian/North Germanic origin, from Old Norse hviða (“gust of wind”). Related to Middle English hwiþa, whyȝt (“breeze; wind”), Old English hwiþa, hwiþu, hweoþu (“breeze”). The noun is derived from the verb.
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