hither
[hith -er]
- to or toward this place: to come hither.
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- being on this or the closer side; nearer: the hither side of the meadow.
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- 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.
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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. 2018
hither
- 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
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- archaic, or dialect (of a side or part, esp of a hill or valley) nearer; closer
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Word Origin
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
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Word Origin and History for hither and thither
hither
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]
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.