hither
[ hith -er ]
/ ˈhɪð ər /
|
adverb
to or toward this place: to come hither.
adjective
being on this or the closer side; nearer: the hither side of the meadow.
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Nearby words
hitchhike, hitching post, hitchings, hitchings, george herbert, hithe, hither and thither, hither and thither, hithermost, hitherto, hitherward, hitler
Idioms
hither and thither, in various quarters; here and there: They scurried hither and thither to escape the rain.
hither and yon, from here to over there, especially to a farther place; in or to a great many places: He looked hither and yon for the coin. She went hither and yon in search of an answer.
Origin of hither
before 900; Middle English, Old English hider; cognate with Old Norse hethra, Latin citer on this side
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for hither and thither
hither
/ (ˈhɪðə) /
adverb
to or towards this place (esp in the phrase come hither)Also (archaic): hitherward, hitherwards
hither and thither this way and that, as in a state of confusion
adjective
archaic, or dialect (of a side or part, esp of a hill or valley) nearer; closer
Word Origin for hither
Old English hider; related to Old Norse hethra here, Gothic hidrē, Latin citrā on this side, citrō
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for hither and thither
hither
Old English hider, from Proto-Germanic *hideran (cf. Old Norse heðra "here," Gothic hidre "hither"), from Germanic demonstrative base *hi- (cf. he, here). Spelling change from -d- to -th- is the same evolution seen in father. Relation to here is the same as that of thither to there.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with hither and thither
hither and thither
Also, hither and yon. Here and there, as in I've been wandering about, hither and thither, or Ruth went hither and yon, searching for her sister. These old words for “here” and “there” are rarely heard outside these expressions, which themselves may be dying out. [c. a.d. 725]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.