hitherto

Everyday

(formal) Hitherto means until now or until the time being talked about; up to this point. tree →

In the lessons

A stiff, formal or old-fashioned word found in exam questions, legal papers, history books and old stories. It tells the reader that something was true before a change. Phrases: hitherto unknown, hitherto unseen.

Examples

• The scientists found a hitherto unknown kind of beetle. tree →
• Hitherto, the village had never had a flood. tree →
• The letter showed a hitherto hidden side of the king. tree →
• Hitherto, all the tests had come back clear. tree →
• The explorers reached a hitherto unseen valley. tree →
• The museum displays paintings hitherto kept in storage. tree →
• Hitherto he had been a land crab; the land at last cast him adrift. tree →

Note

Very formal; in everyday speech say «until now», «so far» or «before this». Often used before an adjective: «hitherto unknown». Stress: hith-er-TOO.

In Jewish tradition

An old word meaning "until now." In the primary lessons: A stiff, formal or old-fashioned word found in exam questions, legal papers, history books and old stories. It tells the reader that something was true before a change. Phrases: hitherto unknown, hitherto unseen.

Examples

• And thou shalt say unto him: The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, hath sent me unto thee, saying: Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness; and, behold, hitherto thou hast not hearkened; (Torah EXO.7.16, JPS 1917) tree →
• The Notes have been extended, and it is hoped that they explain and illustrate difficult passages, and render this abstruse treatise more comprehensible than it has been hitherto found. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) tree →
• But every attempt to unfold this mystery has hitherto been unsuccessful". (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) tree →
• who hitherto waited in the king's gate eastward; they were the porters for the camp of the children of Levi. (Writings 1CH.9.18, JPS 1917) tree →
• Count not thy handmaid for a wicked woman: for out of the abundance of my complaint and my vexation have I spoken hitherto.' (Prophets 1SA.1.16, JPS 1917) tree →
• Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer, saying: 'Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.' (Prophets 1SA.7.12, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Very formal; in everyday speech say «until now», «so far» or «before this». Often used before an adjective: «hitherto unknown». Stress: hith-er-TOO.

Early Modern English

Meaning

Up to this point in time. tree →

Then and now

Today we say "until now" or "so far". The sentences use the same sense as today, but the word is formal and old.

Examples

• And thou shalt say unto him: The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, hath sent me unto thee, saying: Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness; and, behold, hitherto thou hast not hearkened; (Torah EXO.7.16, JPS 1917) tree →
• I have always progressed hitherto, as I know quite well." (Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen) tree →
• The Notes have been extended, and it is hoped that they explain and illustrate difficult passages, and render this abstruse treatise more comprehensible than it has been hitherto found. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) tree →

Note

Today: until now.