hither

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hith·er

(hĭth′ər)

adv.

To or toward this place: Come hither.

adj.

Located on the near side.

Idiom:

hither and thither/yon

In or to many places; here and there: looked hither and thither for the ring; ran hither and yon.

[Middle English, from Old English hider; see ko- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

hither

(ˈhɪðə)

adv

1. to or towards this place (esp in the phrase come hither). Also (archaic): hitherward or hitherwards

2. hither and thither this way and that, as in a state of confusion

adj

archaic or dialect (of a side or part, esp of a hill or valley) nearer; closer

[Old English hider; related to Old Norse hethra here, Gothic hidrē, Latin citrā on this side, citrō]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

hith•er

(ˈhɪð ər)

adv.

1. to or toward this place: to come hither.

adj.

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

Idioms:

1. hither and thither, here and there.

2. hither and yon, from here to a place at some distance; in many places.

[before 900; Middle English, Old English hider, c. Old Norse hethra, Gothic hidre, Latin citer]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Adv.

hither - to this place (especially toward the speaker); "come here, please"

here

hither

adverb (Old-fashioned) here, over here, to this place, close, closer, near, nearer, nigh (archaic) I came hither to tell you the news.

hither and thither this way and that, back and forth, hither and yon Refugees ran hither and thither in search of safety.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

إلى هُنا

sem

herhen

hierher hierhin

acá aquí

tänne

çà ici

ide

hingaðhingaî

qua qui in qua per di qua

huc

čionaiį visas pusesiki šiol

šurp

alhier hierheen

сюда

buraya

到这里

hither

(archaic) [ˈhɪðəʳ] ADV → acá
hither and thither → acá y acullá

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

hither

[ˈhɪðə^r] adv

hither and thither, hither and yon (US) → ici et là

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

hither

adv

(old, = to this place) → hierher ? also come-hither

hither and thither (liter: = to and fro) → hierhin und dorthin

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

hither

[ˈhɪðəʳ] adv (old) → qui, qua
hither and thither (liter) → qua e là

hither

(ˈhiðə) adverb

to this place.

ˌhitherˈto adverb

up to this time. Hitherto, this information has been kept secret.

hither and thither

in various directions. People were running hither and thither.

References in classic literature ?

But he is not listening to them, he is there for business; he is not minding the cloak-bearers that come fluttering around to confuse him; he chases this way, he chases that way, and hither and yon, scattering the nimble banderillos in every direction like a spray, and receiving their maddening darts in his neck as they dodge and fly - oh, but it's a lively spectacle, and brings down the house!

View in context

Hither, thither, hither and yon, as they used to say in the days back then.

Off the cuff: A man and a mouse in the house

The town centre is a hive of shoppers all purposefully heading hither and yon into the shops and stores, many loaded down with boxes and bags, having spent their hardearned.

Christmas shopping... it's a forbidden zone for me

Our politicians are torn hither and yon by May's Dodgy Deal and Corbyn's "constructive ambiguity." No Deal will impact most severely upon those areas which voted Leave and could provide a springboard for demagogues.

Heal divisions with a second referendum

And will the mad orations lead to grisly chants and an occasional outbreak of medieval superstition, hither and yon? In short, will the same miserable battle that has torn apart large portions of the European left spread to America, not just on a miniature scale (which has already happened), but full blast, with national consequences?

Will the American Left Follow Britain and France Into Anti-Zionism and Anti-Semitism?

Kolakovic also complained that the international volleyball federation forces Iran to travel hither and yon while other teams have much easier schedules.

V'ball team says FBI harassed players in US

Growing up, Kallin moved hither and yon with her family and ended up in Montana, where she attended law school at the University of Montana in Missoula.

Erica M. Kallin, deputy prosecuting attorney and special victims unit chief, Canyon County Prosecuting Attorneys Office

These days, with plenty of insanity rising around the globe again, hither and yon, the thoughts of Howard and others like him are worth considering as much as ever.

Glory and Insanity

Danny Devine 6 Stood his ground against threat of Boyce but Caley Thistle defence were pulled hither and yon.

Man by Man

We are better and closer to the truth when we seek to include those voices from the right and the left, from ahead and behind, from hither and yon. Therein, in the common faith and tradition that we hold, we discovered how Catholic we really are.

The changing face(s) of moral theology

No date is noted for the first edition; the second includes a new section of refractive surgery, new questions scattered hither and yon to incorporate the few recent changes in the science, and a new synthesis and summary chapter.

Last-minute optics; a concise review of optics, refraction, and contact lenses, 2d ed

About a dozen years ago, huge green signs started popping up in the city, pointing the way hither and yon - to downtown, the airport, the interstate - for motorists, most of whom knew their way around just fine.