whence
/ʍɛns/ adverb, conjunction
- adverb (archaic, formal or literary) From where; from which place or source. “Whence came I?”
- conjunction (literary, poetic) Used for introducing the result of a fact that has just been stated; thence “The work is slow and dangerous, whence the high costs.”
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English whennes, from Old English hwanon (with adverbial genitive -s), related to hwonne (whence when). Analyzable as when + -s.
Webster’s 1913
- adverb From what place; hence, from what or which source, origin, antecedent, premise, or the like; how; --used interrogatively.
- adverb From what or which place, source, material, cause, etc.; the place, source, etc., from which; --used relatively.
Etymology [OE. whennes, whens (with adverbial s, properly a genitive ending; -- see -wards), also whenne, whanene, AS. hwanan, hwanon, hwonan, hwanone; akin to D. when. See When, and cf. Hence, Thence.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “whence”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details