ENGLISH
REFERENCE

thence

adv. place
C2 Proficiency US //ˈðɛns// UK //ðˈɛns// thence Archaic Formal Literary

adv. from that place or from that time. It is a very formal word used to show where someone went next or what happened after a specific event.

adv. from that place or source; following from that fact or time. Used in formal or literary contexts to indicate a point of origin or a logical consequence.


SIMPLE

We went to Paris and thence to Rome.

CONTEXTUAL

The hikers reached the summit by noon and thence descended into the valley before nightfall.

COMPLEX

The river flows into the Great Lake and thence to the sea, carrying with it the sediment of three different mountain ranges.

Synonyms
Origin

From Middle English þennes, from þenne + -es (“adverbial ending”), the former from þanan, þanona, from Proto-West Germanic *þananā. Cognate with Westphalian Low German diëne.

Usage

Typically used in formal writing to avoid repeating 'from there'; it can also indicate a logical progression in an argument.

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