hitherto

UK/ˌhɪðəˈtuː/US/ˈhɪðəɹˌtu/

adverbC2Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #13,490 of 15,258leans written

Hitherto means up until this point in time. Hitherto unknown, hitherto unpublished, hitherto it had worked.

It is formal and implies that things are about to change, which is why hitherto unknown is such a common phrase in announcements. The hither in it is the old word for to this place.

Definitions of hitherto

1adverbhithertoUp until this point in time.C2
“The village, hitherto quiet and forgotten, was suddenly full of tourists.”

hitherto is a time.

Where it comes from

Middle English hiderto is hither, to this place, plus to.

Proto-Indo-European
*ḱe
Old English
hider — to here, hither
Middle English
hiderto — to the present time, until now; up to this point
English, today
hitherto

Built from

hider · Middle English — in this direction, to or toward this place; up to the present time, until now
to · Middle English — in the direction of, toward; etc.

The is derived from Middle English hiderto (“to the present time, until now; up to this point”), from hider (“in this direction, to or toward this place; up to the present time, until now”) (from Old English hider (“to here, hither”)) + to (“in the direction of, toward; etc.”). by surface analysis, hither + to. The is derived from the adverb.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

hitherto in the wild

First contested at the 1962 state election, it was held for two terms by Merv Toms of the Labor Party, hitherto the member for Maylands.
Electoral district of Bayswater (Western Australia)
First contested at the 1974 state election, its first member was Colin Jamieson, hitherto the member for Belmont.
Electoral district of Welshpool
Revived for the 1962 election, it was won by John Brady of the Labor Party, hitherto the member for Guildford-Midland.
Electoral district of Swan
On 8 November 2016, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the hitherto existing 500 and 1000 rupee notes cease to be legal tender.
Fake Indian currency note
The Late Gothic cross-window is known since the 14th century and replaced the hitherto common Romanesque or Gothic arched window on buildings.
Cross-window

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the hider family

hither hitherto

hitherto — used about once every 23,598 pages · #13,490 · point at the bar for the others

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