There are a number of words falling out of the common vocabulary. They are all, obviously, useful to some degree. After all, they wouldn’t have become words if nobody found them useful in conversation. But a few have come to my mind recently, demanding I reminisce about them. They come in matching sets, and are based on the much more common words of position: here, there, where, when.
Motion towards: hither, thither, whither.
Motion from: hence, thence, whence.
Motion away from, already in progress: Henceforth, thereforth (survives as therefore), whenceforth.
Other European languages have kept some or all of these words. Motion and position tend to be indicated with the combination of a preposition and a grammatical case. (Preposition: a word that goes in front of another as a modifier. Pre-positioned, as it were.)
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