Meaning & use
thither
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Meaning
adverbold-fashionedliteraryarchaic
To or toward that place; in that direction.
Grammar: An old-fashioned word; today mostly found in literary texts or the phrase 'hither and thither'.
Patterns
- go thither
- hither and thither
In old poems, knights would ride thither to seek adventure.
The birds flew hither and thither over the field.
He wandered thither without a clear plan.
Common combinations
- hither and thither
- The leaves blew hither and thither in the wind.
- go thither
- They decided to go thither on foot.
- thither and yon
- People came from thither and yon to see the show.
Synonyms and how they differ
- there
- The modern everyday word meaning 'to that place'; use 'there' in normal speech.
- thitherward
- An even rarer form meaning 'in that direction'; avoid unless reading old texts.
Opposites
Word family
- hither adverb
- To this place; the opposite of 'thither'.
- thitherward adverb
- Toward that place; very rare.
Commonly confused: thither or hither?
thither vs hither
'Hither' means 'to here', while 'thither' means 'to there'. They are often paired in the fixed phrase 'hither and thither'.
Practice
In modern English, which word would you normally use instead of 'thither'?
Choose one answer.
'Thither' means 'to that place', and the everyday word for that is 'there'. 'Here' means 'to this place', 'where' asks about a place, and 'hither' means 'to this place'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “thither”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.