whence

ad. 从何处, 出于什么原因, 从哪个
n. 来处, 根源
相关词组:
Whence comes it that...?

whence

adv.（副词）
From where; from what place:
从何处；从哪里：
例句：
Whence came this travelerô
这个旅行者从哪儿来ô

From what origin or source:
出于什么原因或来源：
例句：
Whence comes this splendid feastô
何以举办如此豪华的宴会ô

conj.（连接词）
Out of which place; from or out of which.
从那个地方；从那里
By reason of which; from which:
据此，由此：
例句：
The dog was coal black from nose to tail, whence the name Shadow.
这只狗从鼻尖到尾巴都象炭一般黑，据此就有了.黑影.这个名字


来源：
Middle English whennes
中古英语 whennes
whenne [whence] from Old English hwanon * see k wo-
whenne [从何处] 源自 古英语 hwanon *参见 k wo-
-es [genitive sing. suff.] * see -s 3
-es [属格单数后缀] *参见 -s3

The constructionfrom whence has been criticized as redundant since the 8th century. It is true thatwhence incorporates the sense of from :
词组from whence 自8世纪以来便一直被批评为重复且与语义无增的词。 确实whence 这个词含有 from 之意：
例句：
a remote village, whence little news reached the wider world.
遥远偏僻的村庄，几乎没有消息可传到更广阔的世界。

Butfrom whence has been used steadily by reputable writers since the 4th century, most notably in the King James Bible:
但自4世纪以来from whence 一词一直被一些很有声望的作家所使用， 在詹姆士王的《圣经》中最为著名：
例句：
.I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. (Psalms).
.我将抬起双眼望向群山，从那里我的救助将会到来. （赞美诗）。

It is difficult to label as incorrect a construction with such respectable antecedents.Still, it may be observed thatwhence (like thence ) is most often used nowadays to impart an archaic or highly formal tone to a passage, and that this effect is probably better realized if the archaic syntax of the word—withoutfrom —is preserved as well.
由于这样一些值得尊敬的先人，故而将其归类为一个不正确的结构就比较困难。不过，仍然可以注意到whence （如同 thence )在今天最常用来给一段文章赋予一种古体的或极其正式的语调， 并可以注意到如果该调整的古式构词方式（即不带有from 这个词）亦同样保留的话，该古体且高度正式的语调的效果则能更好地体现出来