Not a Word Peeve: Whither and Whence

 After having discussed who and whom, I have some locational (toponymic?) words to discuss briefly.

When's the right time to use here, hither, and hence? In the 21st Century, nobody even says hither and hence anymore. They are practically ancient history. 

Likewise with where, whither, and whence; and there, thither, and thence.

Here's the rule of thumb:

• The -ither ending conveys a sense of to.
• The -ence ending conveys a sense of from.

To beat this dead horse into a bloody pulp:

hither = to here

hence = from here

whither = to where

whence = from where

thither = to there

thence = from there

So when a woman bats her eyes and gives you "a come-hither look" she wants you over there next to her.

And when someone says "We're taking the train to Dorset, and thence to Southampton," they're saying that the second leg of the journey leaves from Dorset.

And this dialogue could have been lifted straight from The Lord of the Rings:

"Whence have you come hither, and whither are you going?"

"We spent the night in Rohan, and we departed thence at dawn's first light. We are in search of the road to Gondor. for we are journeying thither."

One interesting variation is the use of "hence" meaning "therefore". It signals that the you're using the last assertion or statement as the jumping-off point for the next one.

Another interesting variation is "henceforth" meaning "from now on, moving forward."