whence

[ hwens, wens ]

/ ʰwɛns, wɛns /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR whence ON THESAURUS.COM

adverb

from what place?: Whence comest thou?

from what source, origin, or cause?: Whence has he wisdom?

conjunction

from what place, source, cause, etc.: He told whence he came.

Origin of whence

1250–1300; Middle English whennes, whannes, equivalent to whanne (by syncope from Old English hwanone whence) + -s-s¹

usage note for whence

Although sometimes criticized as redundant on the grounds that “from” is implied by the word whence, the idiom from whence is old in the language, well established, and standard. Among its users are the King James Bible, Shakespeare, Dryden, and Dickens: Hilary finally settled in Paris, from whence she bombarded us with letters, postcards, and sketches. From thence, a parallel construction, occurs infrequently.

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH whence

1. hence, hither, thence, thither, whence , whither, yon (see usage note at the current entry)2. when, whence

Words nearby whence

whelp, whelping ice, when, when all's said and done, whenas, whence, whencesoever, when'd, whene'er, whenever, When in Rome, do as the Romans do

Dictionary.com UnabridgedBased on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for whence

And where was this magical land of Khorasan, whence the conquerors would come?
ISIS Targets Afghanistan Just as the U.S. Quits|Sami Yousafzai, Christopher Dickey|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Then the man got dressed, got back on his bicycle and rode off from whence he came.
Jamie Lee Curtis and Naomi Foner on What It Means to Be ‘Very Good Girls’|Jamie Lee Curtis|July 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is no longer exclusively the domain of “the ghetto” from whence it came.
‘Because the Internet’ Review: Childish Gambino Is Hip-Hop’s Perennial Outsider|Rawiya Kameir|December 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Egyptians leave the country to seek work elsewhere, whence they can send remittances home.
Egypt's Ticking Population Bomb|David Frum|May 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST

So, like a good troll, please go back under the bridge from whence you came.
'Barack O'Fraudo'|Justin Green|November 20, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Gallus told him and he vanished through the curtains, whence he returned presently, beckoning them to advance.
Pearl-Maiden|H. Rider Haggard
And she perceived that he was much abashed, and so asked him a second time, "Tell me whence you come."
A History of the French Novel, Vol. 1|George Saintsbury
It was, besides, so easy to get rid of the exiles of Valencay by sending them back to the place from whence they had been brought!
Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, Complete|Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne
The exact nature of the various missiles and the direction from whence they came were of course unknown to us.
The Blocking of Zeebrugge|Alfred F. B. Carpenter
She gestured toward the lower caves, whence the sounds of smithy-work and other toil drifted upward.
Darkness and Dawn|George Allan England

British Dictionary definitions for whence

whence

/ (wɛns) archaic, or formal /

adverb

from what place, cause, or origin?

pronoun

(subordinating) from what place, cause, or origin

Word Origin for whence

C13 whannes, adverbial genitive of Old English hwanon; related to Old Frisian hwana, Old High German hwanan

usage for whence

The expression from whence should be avoided, since whence already means from which place: the tradition whence (not from whence) such ideas flowed

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

单词	whence
释义	whence [ hwens, wens ] / ʰwɛns, wɛns / SEE SYNONYMS FOR whence ON THESAURUS.COM adverb from what place?: Whence comest thou? from what source, origin, or cause?: Whence has he wisdom? conjunction from what place, source, cause, etc.: He told whence he came. Origin of whence 1250–1300; Middle English whennes, whannes, equivalent to whanne (by syncope from Old English hwanone whence) + -s-s¹ usage note for whence Although sometimes criticized as redundant on the grounds that “from” is implied by the word whence, the idiom from whence is old in the language, well established, and standard. Among its users are the King James Bible, Shakespeare, Dryden, and Dickens: Hilary finally settled in Paris, from whence she bombarded us with letters, postcards, and sketches. From thence, a parallel construction, occurs infrequently. WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH whence 1. hence, hither, thence, thither, whence , whither, yon (see usage note at the current entry)2. when, whence Words nearby whence whelp, whelping ice, when, when all's said and done, whenas, whence, whencesoever, when'd, whene'er, whenever, When in Rome, do as the Romans do Dictionary.com UnabridgedBased on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020 Example sentences from the Web for whence And where was this magical land of Khorasan, whence the conquerors would come? ISIS Targets Afghanistan Just as the U.S. Quits\|Sami Yousafzai, Christopher Dickey\|December 19, 2014\|DAILY BEAST Then the man got dressed, got back on his bicycle and rode off from whence he came. Jamie Lee Curtis and Naomi Foner on What It Means to Be ‘Very Good Girls’\|Jamie Lee Curtis\|July 25, 2014\|DAILY BEAST It is no longer exclusively the domain of “the ghetto” from whence it came. ‘Because the Internet’ Review: Childish Gambino Is Hip-Hop’s Perennial Outsider\|Rawiya Kameir\|December 10, 2013\|DAILY BEAST Egyptians leave the country to seek work elsewhere, whence they can send remittances home. Egypt's Ticking Population Bomb\|David Frum\|May 3, 2013\|DAILY BEAST So, like a good troll, please go back under the bridge from whence you came. 'Barack O'Fraudo'\|Justin Green\|November 20, 2012\|DAILY BEAST Gallus told him and he vanished through the curtains, whence he returned presently, beckoning them to advance. Pearl-Maiden\|H. Rider Haggard And she perceived that he was much abashed, and so asked him a second time, "Tell me whence you come." A History of the French Novel, Vol. 1\|George Saintsbury It was, besides, so easy to get rid of the exiles of Valencay by sending them back to the place from whence they had been brought! Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, Complete\|Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne The exact nature of the various missiles and the direction from whence they came were of course unknown to us. The Blocking of Zeebrugge\|Alfred F. B. Carpenter She gestured toward the lower caves, whence the sounds of smithy-work and other toil drifted upward. Darkness and Dawn\|George Allan England British Dictionary definitions for whence whence / (wɛns) archaic, or formal / adverb from what place, cause, or origin? pronoun (subordinating) from what place, cause, or origin Word Origin for whence C13 whannes, adverbial genitive of Old English hwanon; related to Old Frisian hwana, Old High German hwanan usage for whence The expression from whence should be avoided, since whence already means from which place: the tradition whence (not from whence) such ideas flowed Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Words related to whence wherefrom
随便看	antiozonant antiparabema antiparallel antiparasitic antiparticle antipasto antipater antipathetic antipathy antipedal antipediculotic antipeptic antiperiodic antiperistalsis antiperistaltic antiperistaltic anastomosis antipernicious anemia factor antipersonnel antiperspirant antiphlogistic antiphon antiphonal antiphonary antiphony antiphrasis

whence

adverb

conjunction

Origin of whence

usage note for whence

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH whence

Words nearby whence

Example sentences from the Web for whence

British Dictionary definitions for whence

adverb

pronoun

Word Origin for whence

usage for whence

Words related to whence