Whence
[wens] or [wɛns]
Definition
(adv.) From what place; hence, from what or which source, origin, antecedent, premise, or the like; how; -- used interrogatively.
(adv.) From what or which place, source, material, cause, etc.; the place, source, etc., from which; -- used relatively.
Edited by Jonathan
Synonyms and Synonymous
ad. [1]. From what place.[2]. From what cause, from what source, how.
Editor: Moll
Examples
- There was no sign of a place whence it had been taken. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- The gas, when purified, is conveyed to the gas-holder, whence it is forced by pressure into the mains and pipes. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- Thinkest thou to escape from whence in all the countless ages but a single soul has fled? Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Gods of Mars.
- The Christian writer Lactantius asked shrewdly whence atoms came, and what proof there was of their existence. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- A gentleman had done this good turn, and nowcovering her with his cloak, advanced to restore her to the house whence he had seen her issue. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- The ice in the can is then loosened by warm water, and the block dumped through the door into a chute, whence it passes into the storage room below, seen in Fig. 298. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- Whence then this obvious DISQUALITY? D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- From whence does this proceed, but that the memory in the first case assists the fancy and gives an additional force and vigour to its conceptions? David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
- At other times this future bursts suddenly, as if a rock had rent, and in it a grave had opened, whence issues the body of one that slept. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Who and whence art thou, priest? Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- Then from whence, my friends, in a human point of view, do we derive the strength that is necessary to our limbs? Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- The company has its own logging crews that cut the timber and pile it on flat cars, whence it is transported over a private railroad until it arrives at the company sawmills. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- I had heard it--where, or whence, for ever impossible to know! Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- It terminated like the former; though something approaching to a ray, we could not tell whence, shed a very doubtful twilight in the space. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- For whence should it be derived? David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
- I do not ask whence flows the feeling which you pour into these songs, for I know it flows out of your heart, Miss Keeldar. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- He would follow this savage creature for a while and know from whence he came. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- From whence do these papers come, you say? Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- He did not turn aside to the cottage, but pushed on to an eminence, whence he could see over the whole quarter that had once been Eustacia's home. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- The seamen soon knew whence I came last: they were curious to inquire into my voyages and course of life. Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
- At last, George took Emmy's hand, and led her back into the bedroom, from whence he came out alone. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- I caressed him, and he wagged his great tail; but he looked an eerie creature to be alone with, and I could not tell whence he had come. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- Whence did I come? Mary Shelley. Frankenstein_Or_The Modern Prometheus.
- By degrees I was brought into another room, whence I peeped into the street, but drew my head back in a fright. Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
- Whence comes the delight I take in that talk? Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- In due time this happy party landed at the quays of Rotterdam, whence they were transported by another steamer to the city of Cologne. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- Whence, I often asked myself, did the principle of life proceed? Mary Shelley. Frankenstein_Or_The Modern Prometheus.
- Whence came these vestments? Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- Whence sprung this difference? Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- Whence did she acquire the gift to be heedless and never offend? Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
Editor: Moll