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Whither

Adverb
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

To what place; toward what destination. It is used in questions or indirect inquiry.

Detailed Definition
Whither asks not simply where something is, but where it is going, making it especially useful in poems of journey, exile, change, and uncertainty. A speaker may ask whither a river runs, whither a departing bird flies, or whither the soul moves after death. The word's archaic and formal tone gives such questions philosophical weight. In lyric verse, whither can turn physical direction into an inquiry about purpose, destiny, or the future.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Whither” means “to what place” and is often used in poetic questions; Percy Bysshe Shelley asks in “Ode to the West Wind,” “O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn’s being, / Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead / Are driven,” inviting the question of whither the leaves go; “Whither, little river, do you hurry through the reeds?” gives a natural image a questioning voice; “Whither shall I turn when every road is snow?” uses the archaic adverb to heighten uncertainty
Additional Notes
Whither means “to what place?” and usually appears in questions, as in “Whither do you wander?” Its archaic, formal tone can suit imitation of older poetry or dramatic speech. Compare whence, meaning “from what place,” and hither, meaning “to this place.”
Other Meanings of “Whither”
Also Known As
Where to To what place
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