hither

See also: hithër

English

Etymology

From Old English hider, from Proto-Germanic *hidrê. Cognate with Latin citer.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈhɪðə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈhɪðɚ/

• Audio (GA)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪðə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: hi‧ther

Adverb

hither (not comparable)

1. (literary or archaic) To this place, to here.

   He went hither and thither.

   • 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, H.L. Brækstad, transl., Folk and Fairy Tales, page 280:

     But the road left the river again; there were certainly twistings and turnings, as the old woman had said, for at one moment it wound hither and the next thither, and at some places it was almost imperceptible.

2. over here

Usage notes

• Compare to the pronominal adverb "hereto" which follows the pattern of "preposition + what" or "preposition + which".

Antonyms

• hence

Derived terms

• come hither
• come-hither
• hither and thither
• hither and yon
• hitherto
• hitherward

 

Related terms

• thither
• whither

Translations

to here

• Belarusian: сюды́ (sjudý)
• Bulgarian: насам (bg) (nasam)
• Czech: sem (cs)
• Danish: herhen, hid
• Dutch: hierheen (nl), alhier (nl), herwaarts (nl)
• Esperanto: ĉi tien
• Faroese: higar
• Finnish: tänne (fi)
• French: ici (fr), çà (fr)
• Galician: acá, acó
• German: her (de), hierher (de), hierhin (de)
• Gothic: 𐌷𐌹𐌳𐍂𐌴 (hidrē)
• Greek:

  Ancient: δεῦρο (deûro)

• Hebrew: הֲלוֹם‎ (he) (halóm), הֵנָּה‎ (he) (héna)
• Hungarian: ide (hu)
• Icelandic: hingað (is)
• Italian: qui (it), qua (it)
• Korean: 여기로 (yeogiro)
• Kriol: dijei
• Ladin: ca, tlo ca
• Latin: hūc (la)
• Macedonian: ваму (vamu)
• Maori: mai
• Navajo: wóshdę́ę́ʼ
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: hit (no), hitover (no), herover

• Old English: hider
• Old Norse: heðra
• Plautdietsch: häa
• Polish: tutaj (pl), dotąd (pl)
• Portuguese: acá (pt), para cá
• Romanian: încoace (ro), aici (ro)
• Russian: сюда́ (ru) (sjudá)
• Scottish Gaelic: a-bhos, a-nall
• Slovak: sem
• Spanish: aquí (es), acá (es)
• Swedish: hit (sv)
• Tocharian B: ecce
• Turkish: buraya
• Ukrainian: сюди́ (sjudý)
• Yiddish: אַהער‎ (aher)
• Yup'ik: ukani

Adjective

hither (not comparable)

1. (archaic) On this side; the nearer.

   Synonym: (literary) citerior

   • 1954, Aldous Huxley, The Doors of Perception, Chatto & Windus, page 30:

     The essential Not-self could be perceived very clearly in things and in living creatures on the hither side of good and evil.

Derived terms

• Hither Green

Translations

on this side

• Bulgarian: отсам (bg) (otsam)
• Finnish: tämänpuoleinen
• Icelandic: sem er nær
• Italian: citeriore, al di qua
• Spanish: citerior

See also

here	there	where
hither	thither	whither
hence	thence	whence