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.

Whether vs Hence - What's the difference?

whether | hence |

In obsolete|lang=en terms the difference between whether and hence

is that whether is (obsolete) which of two while hence is (obsolete) to send away.

As a pronoun whether

is (obsolete) which of two.

As a conjunction whether

is (lb).

As an adverb hence is

(archaic) from here, from this place, away.

As a verb hence is

(obsolete) to send away.

whether

English

Pronoun

(English Pronouns)
  • (obsolete) Which of two.
  • * 1526 , William Tyndale, trans. Bible , Matthew XXVII:
  • The debite answered and sayde unto them: whether of the twayne will ye that I lett loosse unto you?
  • * Bible, Matthew xxi. 31
  • Whether of them twain did the will of his father?

    Conjunction

    (English Conjunctions)
  • (lb)
  • *1526 , (William Tyndale), trans. Bible , Mark II:
  • *:whether ys it easyer to saye to the sicke of the palsey, thy synnes ar forgeven the: or to saye, aryse, take uppe thy beed and walke?
  • *1616 , (William Shakespeare), (King John) , I.i:
  • *:Whether hadst thou rather be a Faulconbridge, [...] Or the reputed sonne of Cordelion?
  • .
  • :
  • *
  • *:As a political system democracy seems to me extraordinarily foolish,I do not suppose that it matters much in reality whether laws are made by dukes or cornerboys, but I like, as far as possible, to associate with gentlemen in private life.
  • *{{quote-news, year=2012, date=June 19, author=Phil McNulty, work=BBC Sport
  • , title= England 1-0 Ukraine , passage=The incident immediately revived the debate about goal-line technology, with a final decision on whether it is introduced expected to be taken in Zurich on 5 July.}}
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-20, volume=408, issue=8845, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= Old soldiers? , passage=Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine. The machine gun is so much more lethal than the bow and arrow that comparisons are meaningless. One thing that is true, though, is that murder rates have fallen over the centuries, as policing has spread and the routine carrying of weapons has diminished.}}
  • ; if, whether or not.
  • :
  • :
  • Usage notes

    * There is some overlap in usage between senses 2 and 3, in that a yes-or-no interrogative content clause can list the two possibilities explicitly in a number of ways:
    Do you know whether he's coming or staying?''
    ''Do you know whether he's coming or not?''
    ''Do you know whether or not he's coming?''
    Further, in the first two of these examples, the "or staying" and "or not" may be added as an afterthought (sometimes indicated in writing with a comma before), such that the ''whether may be uttered in sense 3 and then amended to sense 2. * Sense 4 does not have a counterpart that introduces only a single possibility; *"He's coming, whether you like it" is ungrammatical. * In traditional grammar, the clauses headed by whether'' in senses 2 and 3 are classified as noun clauses, and those headed by ''whether in sense 4 are classified as adverb clauses.

    hence

    English

    Adverb

    (-)
  • (archaic) from here, from this place, away
  • I'm going hence , because you have insulted me.
    Get thee hence , Satan!
  • * c.1599-1601 , , Act 4, Scene 1,
  • O Gertrude, come away! / The sun no sooner shall the mountains touch, / But we will ship him hence :
  • * 1849 , ,
  • Ye men of Galilee! / Why stand ye looking up to heaven, where Him ye ne’er may see, / Neither ascending hence , nor returning hither again?
  • (archaic, figuratively) from the living or from this world
  • ''After a long battle, my poor daughter was taken hence .
  • (archaic, of a length of time) in the future from now
  • ''A year hence it will be forgotten.
  • (conjunctive) as a result; therefore, for this reason
  • ''I shall go to Japan and hence will not be here in time for the party.
    ''The purse is handmade and hence very expensive.
  • * 1910 , , Section VI: Weak Points and Strong, 8,
  • Hence that general is skillful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skillful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack.
  • * 1910 , [1513], , Chapter VI,
  • Hence it comes that all armed Prophets have been victorious, and all unarmed Prophets have been destroyed.
  • * 1731 May 27, ,
  • That hence arises the peculiar Unhappiness of that Business, which other Callings are no way liable to;
  • (temporal location) from this time, from now
  • ''The plane will leave two months hence .

    Synonyms

    * consequently

    Derived terms

    * henceforth * henceforward

    Verb

    (henc)
  • (obsolete) To send away.
  • (Sir Philip Sidney)
    English conjunctive adverbs English location adverbs English temporal location adverbs