Q. I would like to know if the words here, there, and where are contractions of the words hither, thither, and whither.

A. Here, there, and where are not contractions of hither, thither, and whither, but the words do share etymological origins. Here and hither both trace back through the Old English and Old High German he (also the source of the modern English pronoun he) to the Latin citra, meaning "on this side." There and thither can be traced back, respectively, to the Old English oaer and thider, both of which are akin to the Old English thaet, "that." Where and whither are both related to the Old English hwa, "who."

Originally, hither, thither, and whither were the words used in the senses of, respectively, "to this place," "to that place," and "to what place." By the 10th and 11th centuries, however, here, there, and where were being used for these senses as well. Both sets of words remained in use as Old English evolved into Middle English and then modern English. However, here, there, and where have largely replaced hither, thither, and whither (which would now sound archaic or affected in most contexts).

Q. I am a writer for a weekly paper. I wrote the following about a fire: "The equally effected children got involved." My editor changed it to: "The equally affected children got involved." Who is correct?

A. Your editor was correct on this one. "The affected/effected children" basically means "the children who were affected/effected [by the fire]." The verb affect is used to mean "to produce an effect upon," as in "to produce a significant influence upon or change in" or "to act upon (as a person or a person's feelings) so as to cause a response." The verb effect, on the other hand, is used to mean "to bring about" or "to accomplish." Substituting the definitions for the words makes the choice clear:

Affect: The children were changed by the fire. The fire produced an effect upon the children. = The fire caused a significant change in/for the children.
Effect: The children were brought about by the fire. The fire accomplished the children.

While the sentences for affect sound a little stilted (what the change actually is would be supplied by the context, of course), the sentences for effect don't make any sense. Affected is the correct choice here, just as it would be in "the children who were affected" and "the affected children."

Q. I know that the meaning of the word provisional most often means "temporary while awaiting approval or nullification," but some people use the word in describing a belief: "I have a provisional belief in God," meaning a belief that could change, or that is not absolute. It would not mean "temporary" here, so would you say this usage is correct?

A. The usage you describe would be correct. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, defines provisional as both "serving for the time being" and as a synonym of temporary. The usage you have described would fall under the definition "serving for the time being." This aspect of the definition of provisional is more fully elaborated in our unabridged Webster's Third New International Dictionary which defines provisional in this sense as "provided for a temporary need," "suitable or acceptable in the existing situation but subject to change or nullification," and as a synonym of tentative and conditional.