The Collaborative International Dictionary
Whither \Whith"er\, adv. [OE. whider. AS. hwider; akin to E. where, who; cf. Goth. hvadr[=e] whither. See Who, and cf. Hither, Thither.]
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To what place; -- used interrogatively; as, whither goest thou? ``Whider may I flee?''
--Chaucer.Sir Valentine, whither away so fast?
--Shak. -
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. -
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. [Obs.] ``Any whither, in hope of life eternal.''
--Jer. Taylor.No whither, to no place; nowhere. [Obs.]
--2 Kings v. 25.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?''
Usage examples of "any whither".
And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee an house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither.
He walked out of the gardens and setting off any whither at a good round pace, found himself in a fine square and opposite to a magnificent old house, set back in a courtyard behind a long wall, such as nobles once inhabited and municipal officers use now.