whither

whither · adverb, noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*kʷos“what; which”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*hwadrê“to what place, where”
3. Old English · inherited fromhwider
4. Middle English · inherited fromwhider“to what place?; into or to which; to what place, where; no matter where, to wherever”
5. English todaywhither

From Middle English whider (“to what place?; into or to which; to what place, where; no matter where, to wherever”), from Old English hwider, hwæder (“to what place, where”), from Proto-Germanic *hwadrê (“to what place, where”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷos (“what; which”), from *kʷ- (the primary interrogative root).

whither · verb, noun²

1. Old Norse · derived fromhviða“gust of wind”
2. Scots · borrowed fromwhidder
3. English todaywhither

The verb is borrowed from Scots whidder, whither (“(of the wind) to bluster; to move quickly”), a frequentative form of whid (“(of wind) to gust; to move quickly”), of Scandinavian/North Germanic origin, from Old Norse hviða (“gust of wind”). Related to Middle English hwiþa, whyȝt (“breeze; wind”), Old English hwiþa, hwiþu, hweoþu (“breeze”). The noun is derived from the verb.

Words from the same roots