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

Explanation

Use the adverb whence as an old-fashioned way to say "from which" or "from where." If you found a hundred dollar bill on the ground, you might ask, "Whence did this money come?" Not many people use the word whence these days — you're most likely to hear it in a Shakespeare play or if a speaker is trying to sound especially formal. Many people say, "from whence," as in "Throw that fish back in the sea from whence it came," although strictly speaking the "from" is unnecessary. Instead, a dinner party guest could ask, "Whence came this delicious fish?"

Example Sentences

Whence the spring in an ailing Schubert’s step in the Scherzo, to say nothing of a 31-year-old’s boisterousness in the Finale.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 26, 2020

Whence the debility, the infantile degeneration of this imaginary.

From Salon • Jan. 5, 2020

Whence comes “She Loves You” or “Help” or “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away”? The alchemy of great music is particularly resistant to analysis.

From Washington Post • Jan. 10, 2019

Whence, then, L’Engle’s adroitness at fantasy or science fiction, call it what you will, with its reliance on enormous inventiveness, narrative panache and derring-do?

From New York Times • May 18, 2018

"Then these other swordsmen have the true power. Or do they? Whence came their swords? Why do they obey?"

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin