Thither

Part of speech: adverb

Pronunciation: /ˈðɪðə/

Definitions

1. To a certain place or point that is referenced nearby
2. In the general direction of a particular location in context
3. Moving or directed toward a specified point or location previously mentioned

Etymology: "Thither" is the old partner of "hither," and the pair was once a neat set of directions: "hither" meant toward here, "thither" toward there. Old English had "þæder," meaning "to there," which came from the same Germanic stem as the word for "there," "þær." Over time the vowel shifted to "þider," and the word took on the same ending as "hider," the form of "hither," probably because the two were so often used side by side that speakers made them match. The result is a word that survives mainly in formal, literary, or archaic-sounding English, where it still carries the sense of motion toward a place. Its partner "hither" followed the same path, and both now sound deliberately old-fashioned.