whence

From where; from which place or source.

Adverb

  1. From where; from which place or source.
    • Whence came I?
    • "Pork" comes from French, whence we get most of our modern cooking terms.
    • Go to whence you came!

    Antonyms: whither

Origin

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

Related

hence thence

Derived

anywhence elsewhence everywhence nowhence somewhence whenceafter whenceforth whenceforward whencefrom whencesoever whencever

Conjunction

  1. Used for introducing the result of a fact that has just been stated; thence
    • The work is slow and dangerous, whence the high costs.
    • I scored more than you in the exam, whence we can conclude that I am better at the subject than you are.

Antonyms

whither

Related

hence thence