whence

W4H4E1N1C3E1
/ʍɛns//wɛns/

adverb

From where, from which: from which place or source.

“Whence came I?”

Opposite
whither
OriginMiddle English whennes ← Old English hwanon →
Less commonScrabble 14
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Meanings

adverbwhence (not comparable)
  1. archaicformalliterarynot comparableFrom where, from which: from which place or source.

    Whence came I?

    5 more examples

    "Pork" comes from French, whence we get most of our modern cooking terms.

    Go to whence you came!

    That envy whence comes hate.

    Ieſus anſwered, and ſaid vnto them, Though I beare record of my ſelfe, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I goe: but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I goe.

    1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, John 8:14, column 1

    I could plainly diſcover from whence one Family derives a long Chin; why a ſecond hath abounded with Knaves for two Generations, and Fools for two more; why a third happened to be crack-brained, and a fourth to be Sharpers.

    1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “A Further Account of Glubbdubdrib. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume II, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part III (A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Glubbdubdribb, Luggnagg, and Japan), page 108

    Antonyms: whither

conjunction
  1. literarypoeticUsed for introducing the result of a fact that has just been stated; thence

    The work is slow and dangerous, whence the high costs.

    1 more example

    I scored more than you in the exam, whence we can conclude that I am better at the subject than you are.

Synonyms & antonyms

adverbFrom where, from which: from which place or source.

Opposite
whither
Opposite
whither
Also see
pursuantlysubsequentlytherefore

Origin

  1. Old Englishhwanon
  2. Middle Englishwhennes
  3. Englishwhence

From Middle English whennes, from Old English hwanon (with adverbial genitive -s), related to hwonne (whence when). Analyzable as when + -s.

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek πόθεν, ὅθεν
  • πόθεν (póthen)from where; from which place or source
  • ὅθεν (hóthen)from where; from which place or source
  • ὁπόθεν (hopóthen)from where; from which place or source
Arabic أَنَّى, مِن أَيْن
  • أَنَّى (ʔannā)from where; from which place or source
  • مِن أَيْن (min ʔayn)from where; from which place or source
  • مِن حَيْثُ (min ḥayṯu)from where; from which place or source
  • مِن حَيْث (min ḥayṯ)conjunction
Basque nondik
  • nondikfrom where; from which place or source
Bulgarian откъде́, откъдето
  • откъде́ (otkădé)from where; from which place or source
  • откъдето (otkădeto)conjunction
Catalan d'on, des d'on
  • d'onfrom where; from which place or source
  • des d'onfrom where; from which place or source
Chinese Mandarin 何处
  • 何处 (hé chǔ)from where; from which place or source
Czech odkud
  • odkudfrom where; from which place or source
Danish hvorfra, hvoraf
  • hvorfrafrom where; from which place or source
  • hvoraffrom where; from which place or source
Dutch waarvandaan
  • waarvandaanfrom where; from which place or source
Esperanto de kie, el kie
  • de kiefrom where; from which place or source
  • el kiefrom where; from which place or source
Finnish mistä, josta
  • mistäfrom where; from which place or source
  • jostaconjunction
  • mistäconjunction
French d'où, d'où
  • d'oùfrom where; from which place or source
  • d'oùconjunction
German woher, von daher
  • woherfrom where; from which place or source
  • von daherconjunction
Greek αφού, πούθε
  • αφού (afoú)from where; from which place or source
  • πούθε (poúthe)from where; from which place or source
Hebrew מֵאַיִן, מִנַּיִן
  • מֵאַיִן (meáin)from where; from which place or source
  • מִנַּיִן (minnáin)from where; from which place or source
Hindi जहाँ
  • जहाँ (jahā̃)from where; from which place or source
Hungarian honnan, honnét
  • honnanfrom where; from which place or source
  • honnétfrom where; from which place or source
  • mibőlfrom where; from which place or source
  • ahonnanfrom where; from which place or source
  • ahonnétfrom where; from which place or source
  • amibőlfrom where; from which place or source
  • amelybőlfrom where; from which place or source
  • innenconjunction
Icelandic hvaðan
  • hvaðanfrom where; from which place or source
Italian onde, donde
  • ondefrom where; from which place or source
  • dondefrom where; from which place or source
  • da dovefrom where; from which place or source
  • ondeconjunction
  • dondeconjunction
  • da doveconjunction
  • da cuiconjunction
Japanese どこから
  • どこから (doko kara)from where; from which place or source
Korean 어디서
  • 어디서 (eodiseo)from where; from which place or source
Latin unde
  • undefrom where; from which place or source
Māori nō hea, nō whea
  • nō heafrom where; from which place or source
  • nō wheafrom where; from which place or source
Norwegian Bokmål hvorfra, hvorav
  • hvorfrafrom where; from which place or source
  • hvoravfrom where; from which place or source
Polish skąd
  • skądfrom where; from which place or source
Portuguese donde, de onde
  • dondefrom where; from which place or source
  • de ondefrom where; from which place or source
  • de ondeconjunction
  • dondeconjunction
Romanian de unde
  • de undefrom where; from which place or source
Russian отку́да
  • отку́да (otkúda)from where; from which place or source
Scottish Gaelic cò às
  • cò àsfrom where; from which place or source
Slovak odkiaľ
  • odkiaľfrom where; from which place or source
Spanish de/desde donde, onde
  • de/desde dondefrom where; from which place or source
  • ondefrom where; from which place or source
  • de ahíconjunction
  • ondeconjunction
Swedish varifrån, var i från
  • varifrånfrom where; from which place or source
  • var i frånfrom where; from which place or source
  • vadanfrom where; from which place or source
  • varförconjunction
Turkish nereden
  • neredenfrom where; from which place or source
Ukrainian зві́дки
  • зві́дки (zvídky)from where; from which place or source
Vietnamese từ đâu đến
  • từ đâu đếnfrom where; from which place or source

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with whence

sensedefenseexpensehencedefenceoffenseintensefencedensesuspensecommenceimmensetensethencespencepencedispensecondenserecompensepretencereminiscencecensecompenseflense
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

whence. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whence

MLA

“whence.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whence. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “whence,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whence.

Source: whence on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.