What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

What is the difference between source and whence?

source | whence |

As a noun source

is the person, place, or thing from which something (information, goods, etc.) comes or is acquired.

As a verb source

is to obtain or procure: used especially of a business resource.

As an adverb whence is

from where; from which place or source.

As a conjunction whence is

used for introducing the result of a fact that has just been stated

source

English

(wikipedia source)

Noun

(en noun)
  • The person, place or thing from which something (information, goods, etc.) comes or is acquired.
  • * {{quote-book, year=2006, author=(Edwin Black)
  • , title=Internal Combustion, chapter=2 citation , passage=More than a mere source of Promethean sustenance to thwart the cold and cook one's meat, wood was quite simply mankind's first industrial and manufacturing fuel.}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-06, volume=408, issue=8843, page=68, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= The rise of smart beta , passage=Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.}}
  • Spring; fountainhead; wellhead; any collection of water on or under the surface of the ground in which a stream originates.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-16, author= John Vidal
  • , volume=189, issue=10, page=8, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Dams endanger ecology of Himalayas , passage=Most of the Himalayan rivers have been relatively untouched by dams near their sources . Now the two great Asian powers, India and China, are rushing to harness them as they cut through some of the world's deepest valleys.}}
  • A reporter's informant.
  • (computing) Source code.
  • (electronics) The name of one terminal of a field effect transistor (FET).
  • Synonyms

    * (l)

    Derived terms

    * sourceless * source code * primary source * secondary source * tertiary source

    See also

    * target

    Verb

  • (chiefly, US) To obtain or procure:
  • To find information about (a quotation)'s source (from which it comes): to find a citation for.
  • Derived terms

    * (mainly US) sourcing * (mainly US) insourcing * (mainly US) outsourcing

    Anagrams

    * ----

    whence

    English

    Adverb

    (-)
  • 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), , Chapter 4:
  • Whence , I often asked myself, did the principle of life proceed?
  • * 1898 , , 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 modern usage; from where'' is now usually substituted (as in the example sentence: ''Where did I come from?'' or ''From where did I come? ). It is now chiefly encountered in older works, or in poetic or literary writing. * From whence has a strong literary precedent, appearing in 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.

    Conjunction

    (English Conjunctions)
  • (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

    * (l)