whence

[ wens, hwens ]

adverb

1. from what place?:

   Whence comest thou?

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

   Whence has he wisdom?

conjunction

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

   He told whence he came.

whence

/ wɛns /

adverb

1. from what place, cause, or origin?

pronoun

1. subordinating from what place, cause, or origin

Usage Note

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.

Usage

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of whence¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of whence¹

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

Example Sentences

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

He sensibly didn’t advertise here, where people might actually know the terrain, but in the East and in Europe, whence no one could eyeball the merchandise.

From Los Angeles Times