Whence vs Whereof - What's the difference?
whence | whereof | Related terms |
From where; from which place or source.
* 1818 , (Mary Shelley), , Chapter 4:
* 1898 , , Chapter 3:
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(literary, poetic) (used for introducing the result of a fact that has just been stated)
(archaic) Of what.
(archaic) Of which.
Whereof is a related term of whence.
As adverbs the difference between whence and whereof
is that whence is from where; from which place or source while whereof is of what.As conjunctions the difference between whence and whereof
is that whence is used for introducing the result of a fact that has just been statedwhereof is of what; of which; of whom.whence
English
Adverb
(-)- Whence came I?
- "Pork" comes from French, whence we get most of our modern cooking terms.
- Whence , I often asked myself, did the principle of life proceed?
- 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)- 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.
