Whēnce, adv.

adverb

[O. Eng. whennes, whens, with the termination of a genitive; A-S. hwanne, hwanan, hwanon, hwōnan. Cf. HENCE and THENCE.]

Sense 1. From what place; hence, from what or which source, origin, antecedent, premise, and the like; how;—used interrogatively.

Whence hath this man this wisdom? Matt. xiii. 54.

Whence and what art thou? Milton.

Sense 2. From what or which place, source, &c.; the place, source, &c., from which;—used relatively. “Grateful to acknowledge whence his good descends.” Milton.

All the words of this class, whence, where, whither, whereabouts, &c., are occasionally used as pronouns by a harsh construction. “O, how unlike the place from whence they fell!” Milton.

Of whence, from what or which place; whence. [Obs.]