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

Now just another member of the Democratic House ranks — but still wielding enormous clout — she and other party pillars helped maneuver the president into the corner from whence he abruptly quit the race in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris.

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

Here’s the story from whence this pearl-clutching about Harris stems: For roughly one year in the mid-1990s when she was 29 years old, Harris dated 60-year-old San Francisco politician Willie Brown, who was technically married but had been separated from his wife since the early ’80s.

From Slate

Biden will become a reminder of the fragile but fundamental principle at the heart of our republic, that in this country the people are sovereign and those we elect are merely temporary holders of that trust who, when the time comes, give that power back from whence it came, to all of us: We the People.

From Slate

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

From Seattle Times