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ESLBeginner Posted 17 years ago
Vocabulary
What's the difference between 'whence' and 'where'?
Is 'whence' just the counterpart of 'where' in ancient English?
Top answer
Not really (depending on what you mean by "counterpart"). It means "from where/which". "the country whence he came" = "the country from which he came" In this (correct) sense, "whence" is old-fashioned, verging on obsolete.
- Not really (depending on what you mean by "counterpart").
- It means "from where/which".
- "the country whence he came" = "the country from which he came" In this (correct) sense, "whence" is old-fashioned, verging on obsolete.
- When the word is used in modern English, it is most often used incorrectly in the construction "from whence" (for example, "the country from whence he came").
- People use this expression in the mistaken belief that "from whence" is somehow more erudite than "from where/which", whereas in fact it's nonsense because "whence" already carries the sense of "from".
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1 Answers
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Not really (depending on what you mean by "counterpart"). It means "from where/which".
"the country whence he came" = "the country from which he came"
In this (correct) sense, "whence" is old-fashioned, verging on obsolete. When the word is used in modern English, it is most often used incorrectly in the construction "from whence" (for example, "the country from whence h
"the country whence he came" = "the country from which he came"
In this (correct) sense, "whence" is old-fashioned, verging on obsolete. When the word is used in modern English, it is most often used incorrectly in the construction "from whence" (for example, "the country from whence h
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