whence

¹whence

adverb \ˈhwen(t)s, ˈwen(t)s\

Definition of WHENCE

: from what place, source, or cause <then whence comes this paradox — Changing Times>

— from whence

: from what place, source, or cause <no one could tell me from whence the gold had come — Graham Greene>

Examples of WHENCE

1. They returned to the land whence they came.

Origin of WHENCE

Middle English whennes, from whenne whence (from Old English hwanon) + -s, adverb suffix, from -s, genitive singular ending; akin to Old High German hwanān whence, Old English hwā who

First Known Use: 13th century

²whence

conjunction

Definition of WHENCE

1

: from what place, source, or cause <inquired whence the water came — Maria Edgeworth>

2

a : from or out of which place, source, or cause <the lawless society whence the ballads sprang — DeLancey Ferguson>

b : by reason of which fact : wherefore <nothing broke— whence I infer that my bones are not yet chalky — O. W. Holmes †1935>

First Known Use of WHENCE

13th century

Rhymes with WHENCE

fence, sense, tense