hither

[ hith-er ]

adverb

1. to or toward this place:

   to come hither.

adjective

1. being on this or the closer side; nearer:

   the hither side of the meadow.

hither

/ ˈhɪðə /

adverb

1. to or towards this place (esp in the phrase come hither ) Also (archaic)hitherwardhitherwards
2. hither and thither
   this way and that, as in a state of confusion

adjective

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of hither¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English hider; cognate with Old Norse hethra, Latin citer “on this side”

Word History and Origins

Origin of hither¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. hither and thither, in various quarters; here and there:

   They scurried hither and thither to escape the rain.

2. 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.

Example Sentences

Petroleum would become increasingly valuable, the article continued, “as a source of substances for which man has hither-to been dependent upon the chance bounty of nature.”

From Science News

She definitely had a sweetness in her features — a kind of innocent sweetness, not a come-hither sweetness at all … She still looked great.

From Washington Post

Behind the counter is the pit, perfuming the room (and your clothes) with the swirling, come-hither scent of beef and smoke.

From The Daily Beast

“Sexxx Dreams” has all the come-hither appeal of a sultry Janet Jackson track without any of the erotic mysticism.

From The Daily Beast

Boxy flannel and messy tears might as well have been a corset and a come-hither pout in The Perfect Storm.

From The Daily Beast

Though the photos are far from sexual, Lottie wears thick mascara as she flashes the camera a come-hither stare.

From The Daily Beast

Hugh puffed, his hair flopping hither and thither as the photographers hosed him down.

From The Daily Beast

Hither does every soul in the place, at some hour or other of the day, inevitably gravitate.

From Project Gutenberg

She was a woman, and in truth she would have married the man beside her had he have come hither when he had gone to Chicago.

From Project Gutenberg

But draw near hither, you sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer, and of the harlot.

From Project Gutenberg

Go, young man, and tell the tree to come hither, and the tree will obey you when you show it my seal.

From Project Gutenberg

A womans heart is not made of grains of sand to be blown hither and thither by a mans breath, she said very earnestly.

From Project Gutenberg