whence

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English whennes, from Old English hwanon (with adverbial genitive -s), related to hwonne (whence when). Analyzable as when +‎ -s. === Pronunciation === enPR: hwĕns, IPA(key): /ʍɛns/ (wine-whine merger) enPR: wĕns, IPA(key): /wɛns/ Rhymes: -ɛns === Adverb === whence (not comparable) (archaic, formal or literary) From where; from which place or source. Antonym: whither ==== Usage notes ==== This word is archaic in contemporary usage; from where is now usually substituted (as in the example sentence: Where did I come from? or From where did I come?). Whence is now mainly encountered in older works and in poetic, formal or literary writing. As a result of the obsolescence of the older directional verb system, words like whence and its antonym whither are sometimes used interchangeably as hypercorrect synonyms of where, as seen in the example below. From whence (literally, “from from-where”), despite being a redundant construction, has a strong literary precedent, mainly for poetic effect, appearing in Wyclif's Bible translation (one of the earliest ones), Shakespeare's works, and the King James Bible, as well as in the writings of numerous Victorian-era writers. In recent times, however, its pleonastic character has been criticized by some usage commentators. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== hence thence ==== Translations ==== === Conjunction === whence (literary, poetic) Used for introducing the result of a fact that has just been stated; thence ==== Antonyms ==== whither ==== Related terms ==== hence thence ==== Translations ====