whence

American  

[hwens, wens] / ʰwɛns, wɛns /

adverb

1. from what place?.

   Whence comest thou?

2. from what source, origin, or cause?.

   Whence has he wisdom?

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conjunction

1. from what place, source, cause, etc..

   He told whence he came.

whence British  

/ wɛns /

adverb

1. from what place, cause, or origin?

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pronoun

1. (subordinating) from what place, cause, or origin

Usage

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.

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

Etymology

Origin of whence

1250–1300; Middle English whennes, whannes, equivalent to whanne (by syncope from Old English hwanone whence) + -s -s ¹

Example Sentences

After that, whence music, a protester might ask.

From Los Angeles Times

The radio and TV stations whence come the music and the news could get even more anonymized: Many cars are coming off the assembly line missing that democratizing medium of the 20th century, AM radio.

From Los Angeles Times

Grizzly populations only just recovered whence they came, now leave them alone.

From Seattle Times

You may have looked at this strange, jolly person and wondered whence he came and what kind of career could have sustained him to this point.

From Los Angeles Times

And as I recall his surliness at the height of the George W. Bush years, from whence that 20-years-ago photo he showed was exhumed, I’m not sure he’s changed all that much.

From Salon