Where and Whence

A few years ago a TV special aired with the title “The From Whence We Came Awards.”

I don’t recall what the awards were for. I just remember reacting to the use of “from” with the word “whence.”

“Whence” is not synonymous with “where.”

Whence means “from what place/source/origin.”

Examples:

The wealthy man never forgot the poverty whence he came.
A stranger appeared in our midst. We know not whence he came.
Whence came these caterpillars?

Clearly, the use of “whence” in modern English is extremely limited. If you choose to use it, remember that the “from” is built in.

Where has the meaning “at what place” or “in what place.”

Unnecessary prepositions also show up with where.

One often hears “Where’s he at?” and “Where’d he go to?” instead of the more grammatical “Where is he?” and “Where did he go?

The unnecessary “to” is not as frequent as the added “at.” Perhaps the contraction of “where is” into “where’s” accounts for the speaker’s need to add the unnecessary “at” for balance.

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Maeve on July 14, 2007 | Filed Under Misused Words

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6 Responses to “Where and Whence”

Shankar Ganesh on July 14th, 2007 1:42 pm

Thanks for this informative post.

Your team at Daily Writing Tips rocks! Keep going, keep posting us on such wonderful stuff!
Daniel on July 14th, 2007 4:08 pm

Shankar, thanks for the nice words!
Roshawn Dawson on July 15th, 2007 11:35 pm

This is nice to know, although I rarely hear people using “whence.”

Like Shankar said, Daily Writing Tips is a great resource for experienced and newbie writers. As long as you keep posting the good stuff, writers will keep reading.
Laura Bergells on July 17th, 2007 1:49 pm

I use “from whence” — just because Sir Walter Scott did in the last lines of his poem “Native Land” (which I had to memorize in 5th grade!)

Thirty some years later, and the line using “from whence” is still burned in my memory –

“…And, doubly dying, shall go down -
To the vile dust from whence he sprung,
Unwept, unhonored, and unsung.”

Perhaps the fame of this poem is why people like me persist in using “from whence” instead of “whence”. After all, we learned it in school — from a literary giant!

Great blog, love reading it (I’m a subscriber!)
Maeve on July 17th, 2007 2:40 pm

Laura -
Oh dear! And he used “sprung” as a simple past!
But then he needed the “from” for the syllable and the “sprung” for the rhyme.

Just goes to show that writers have the latitude to make creative choices based on their purpose.
(Just as painters have the liberty to paint melting clocks even when they know how to paint regular ones.)

Thanks for the comment.
susanne kimball on October 15th, 2007 3:05 pm

Roshawn writes: ” Like Shankar said…” It should be “As Shankar said…” “Like” is a preposition, “as” is a conjunction to be used in phrases containing a verb.