Word
whence
US/ˈhwɛns/
UK/wˈɛns/
Definitions
01from where
adv. from which place or from what source.
adv. from what place, source, or origin; functions as a relative adverb.
“They returned to the valley whence they had first started their journey.”
“The refugees were forced to return to the troubled lands whence they had fled only months earlier.”
Formal · Literary · Archaic
Usage
Often used without the preposition 'from' because the sense of 'from' is already built into the word.
Pitfall
Return to from whence you came.
Return to whence you came.
Since 'whence' already means 'from where', adding 'from' before it is technically redundant, though common in older literature.
Synonyms
Antonyms
02for which reason
conj. because of this or as a result of where something started.
conj. from which fact or circumstance; used to introduce a logical consequence or result.
“The spring was polluted, whence came the sickness that struck the village.”
“The treaty was never ratified, whence arose the border disputes that have lasted for decades.”
Formal · Literary
Teaching tip
This sense is extremely rare in modern speech; learners should recognize it in classic literature but avoid using it in contemporary business or casual writing.
Etymology
From Middle English whennes, from Old English hwanon (with adverbial genitive -s), related to hwonne (whence when). Analyzable as when + -s.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Related words
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/whence