• Hence

    Pronunciation

    • IPA: /ˈhÉ›ns/
    • Rhymes: -É›ns

    Origin

    A later Middle English spelling, retaining the breathy -s, of hennes, (henne + adverbial genitive ending -s), from Old English heonan ("away", "hence"), from a West Germanic root *hin- (compare Old Saxon hinan, Old High German hinnan, German hinnen, Dutch heen, Swedish hän); related to Old English her ("here").

    Full definition of hence

    Adverb

    hence

    1. (archaic) from here, from this place, awayI'm going hence, because you have insulted me.Get thee hence, Satan!
      • c.1599-1601, William Shakespeare, '', Act 4, Scene 1,O Gertrude, come away!
        The sun no sooner shall the mountains touch,
        But we will ship him hence:
      • 1849, Arthur Hugh Clough, ,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?
    2. (archaic, figuratively) from the living or from this world''After a long battle, my poor daughter was taken hence.
    3. (archaic, of a length of time) in the future from now''A year hence it will be forgotten.
    4. (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, Sun Tzu, Lionel Giles (translator), , 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, Niccolò Machiavelli, Ninian Hill Thomson (translator), , Chapter VI,Hence it comes that all armed Prophets have been victorious, and all unarmed Prophets have been destroyed.
      • 1731 May 27, Benjamin Franklin, , published in ,That hence arises the peculiar Unhappiness of that Business, which other Callings are no way liable to;
    5. (temporal location) from this time, from now''The plane will leave two months hence.

    Synonyms

    Related terms

    Verb

    1. (obsolete) To send away.
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