hither

[hith -er]

adverb

to or toward this place: to come hither.

adjective

being on this or the closer side; nearer: the hither side of the meadow.

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

Can be confusedhence hither thence thither whence whither yon (see usage note at whence)

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British Dictionary definitions for hither and thither

hither

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

adv.

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.

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]