English
Pronunciation
AHD|hw�ns, IPA|/�ens/, SAMPA|/Wens/
italbrac|in accents with the wine-whine merger AHD|w�ns, IPA|/wens/, SAMPA|/wens/
audio|en-us-whence.ogg|Audio (US)
Adverb
en-adv|-
- From where; from which place or source.
#: Whence came I?
Usage notes
This word is uncommon in modern usage; from where is now usually substituted (as in the example sentence: Where did I come from? or From where did I come?). It is now chiefly encountered in older works, or in poetic or literary writing.
From whence has a strong literary precedent, appearing in Shakespeare and the King James Bible as well as in the writings of numerous Victorian-era writers. In recent times, however, it has been criticized as redundant by usage commentators.
Translations
trans-top|From where; from which place or source
Dutch: waarvandaan
French: d'où|d�où (1); donc (2)
German: woher
Icelandic: hvaðan
trans-mid
Russian: о�к�да
Serbian: otkuda, odakle
Spanish: ¿de dónde?
Italian: da dove
trans-bottom
Conjunction
whence
- From where.
#: I do not know whence I came.
- context|literary|poetic From which.
#: From French, whence we get most of our modern cooking terms.
#: I scored more than you in the exam, whence we can conclude that I am better at the subject than you are.
Translations
trans-top|whence (conjunctional sense)
Dutch: waarvandaan, �waar � vandaan��
French: d'où|d�où
German: woher
trans-mid
Portuguese: de onde
Russian: о�к�да
Italian: da dove (1); da cui (2)
trans-bottom
Related terms
elsewhence
thence
hence
whenceforth
Category:English conjunctions
es:whence
fr:whence
io:whence
it:whence
hu:whence
pt:whence
fi:whence
te:whence
vi:whence
zh:whence
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