different between whence vs since

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

Alternative forms

• sence (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle English syns, sinnes, contraction of earlier sithens, sithence, from sithen (“after, since”) ( + -s, adverbial genitive suffix), from Old English s?þþan, from the phrase s?þ þ?m (“after/since that (time)”), from s?þ (“since, after”) + þ?m dative singular of þæt. Cognate with Dutch sinds (“since”), German seit (“since”), Danish siden (“since”), Scots syne (“since”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /s?ns/
• Rhymes: -?ns
• Homophones: sense, cents, scents (some dialects)

Adverb

since (not comparable)

1. From a specified time in the past.

Translations

Preposition

since

1. From: referring to a period of time ending in the present and defining it by the point in time at which it started, or the period in which its starting point occurred.
   1. Continuously during that period of time.
   2. At certain points during that period of time.

Antonyms

• until

Translations

Conjunction

since

1. From the time that.
2. Because.
3. (obsolete) When or that.

Synonyms

• (from the time that): sithen (obsolete); see also Thesaurus:since
• (because): sith (obsolete); see also Thesaurus:because

Translations

Anagrams

• *nices, censi, escin, icens, nices, scien, snice