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Forums => English & Linguistics => Topic started by: Annie Subjunctive on February 10, 2005, 04:41:41 PM

Title: Whence
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on February 10, 2005, 04:41:41 PM

I like the preposition whence. Question about usage, though: isn't it redundant to say "from whence?"

Title: Whence
Post by: Jonathon on February 10, 2005, 07:32:07 PM

Actually, whence is an adverb and a conjunction, not a preposition. But that's okay, because all three of those categories often run together in English.

There is nothing wrong with from whence. Apparently, for as long as the word whence has existed, so has the phrase from whence. It's not always necessary, but sometimes it just feels wrong if you leave out the from.

Here's a decent article (http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-fro2.htm) on the subject. It's not very comprehensive, but it makes its point: the construction is about 700 years old, but no one thought to criticize it until the mid-1700s. It's just another example of eighteenth-century grammarians making ridiculous and ill-founded usage proscriptions.

Title: Whence
Post by: Capt. Tagon on February 11, 2005, 10:59:01 PM

I'm just going to throw in my vote for "whence" being a cool word.