| 释义 |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024whence /hwɛns, wɛns/USA pronunciation adv. - (used to introduce a question) from what place?:Whence comest thou?
- (used to introduce a question) from what source, origin, or cause?:Whence came his wisdom?
Although sometimes criticized as redundant, the idiom from whence is old, well-established, and standard:She arrived in Paris, from whence she bombarded us with postcards.It is found in Shakespeare, the King James Bible, and Dickens. WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024whence (hwens, wens),USA pronunciation adv. - from what place?:Whence comest thou?
- from what source, origin, or cause?:Whence has he wisdom?
conj. - from what place, source, cause, etc.:He told whence he came.
- Middle English whennes, whannes, equivalent. to whanne (by syncope from Old English hwanone whence) + -s -s1 1250–1300
Although sometimes criticized as redundant on the grounds that "from'' is implied by the word whence, the idiom from whence is old in the language, well established, and standard. Among its users are the King James Bible, Shakespeare, Dryden, and Dickens:Hilary finally settled in Paris, from whence she bombarded us with letters, postcards, and sketches.From thence, a parallel construction, occurs infrequently.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: whence /wɛns/ archaic or formal adv - from what place, cause, or origin?
pron - (subordinating) from what place, cause, or origin
Etymology: 13th Century whannes, adverbial genitive of Old English hwanon; related to Old Frisian hwana, Old High German hwananUSAGE
The expression from whence should be avoided, since whence already means from which place: the tradition whence (not from whence) such ideas flowed |