different between whence vs anywhence

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• enPR: hw?ns, IPA^(key): /??ns/
• (in accents with the wine-whine merger) enPR: w?ns, IPA^(key): /w?ns/
• Rhymes: -?ns

Adverb

whence (not comparable)

1. (archaic, formal or literary) From where; from which place or source.

   Whence came I?

   "Pork" comes from French, whence we get most of our modern cooking terms.

   • 1818, Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, Chapter 4:

     Whence, I often asked myself, did the principle of life proceed?

   • 1885, Richard F. Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Night 564:

     […] But when I had bestridden the plank, quoth I to myself, "Thou deserveth all that betideth thee. All this is decreed to me of Allah (whose name be exalted!), to turn me from my greed of gain, whence ariseth all that I endure, for I have wealth galore."

   • 1898, J. Meade Falkner, Moonfleet, Chapter 3:

     At first I could not tell what this new sound was, nor whence it came, and now it seemed a little noise close by, and now a great noise in the distance. And then it grew nearer and more defined, and in a moment I knew it was the sound of voices talking.

Usage notes

• This word is uncommon 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 or literary writing.
• From whence has a strong literary precedent, appearing in Wyclif's Bible translation, Shakespeare and the King James Bible, as well as in the writings of numerous Victorian-era writers. In recent times, however, it has been criticized as redundant by usage commentators.

Antonyms

• whither

Derived terms

Related terms

• hence
• thence

Translations

Conjunction

whence

1. (literary, poetic) Used for introducing the result of a fact that has just been stated.

   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 terms

• hence
• thence

Translations

English

Etymology

any +? whence

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: ??.n?.hw?ns, IPA^(key): /??n.?.??ns/

Adverb

anywhence (not comparable)

1. (formal, now rare) From anywhere.
   • 1671: Thomas Brancker, in Stephen Peter Rigaud’s Correspondence of Scientific Men of the Seventeenth Century, volume 1, page 167 (1841 publication)

     As soon as I receive it anywhence, you shall have it presently returned.

Related terms

References

• “†?anywhence, adv.” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [2^nd Ed.; 1989]