hence

See also: Hence

English

Etymology

A later Middle English spelling, retaining the voiceless -s, of hennes (henne + adverbial genitive ending -s), from Old English heonan (“away", "hence”), from a Proto-West Germanic *hin-, from Proto-Germanic *hiz, and Proto-Germanic *-anē.

Cognate with Old Saxon hinan, Old High German hinnan (German hinnen), Dutch heen, Swedish hän. Related to Old English her (“here”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhɛns/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛns

Adverb

hence (not comparable)

1. (archaic) From here, from this place, away.

   Synonym: herefrom

   I'm going hence, because you have insulted me.

   Get thee hence, Satan!

   • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i], page 272, column 1:

     O Gertrude, come away: / The sun no ſooner ſhall the Mountaines touch, / But we will ſhip him hence,

   • 1849, Arthur Hugh Clough, Easter Day (Naples, 1849):

     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?

   • 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:

     `Now leave me,' she said, `and sleep if ye may. I must watch and think, for to-morrow night we go hence, and the time is long since I trod the path that we must follow.'

2. (archaic, figuratively) From the living or from this world.

   After a long battle, my poor daughter was taken hence.

3. (of a length of time) In the future from now.

   A year hence it will be forgotten.

   • 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:

     […] And now farewell / Till half an hour hence.

4. (conjunctive) As a result; therefore, for this reason.

   Synonym: consequently

   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), The Art of War, 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, chapter VI, in Ninian Hill Thomson, transl., The Prince:

     Hence it comes that all armed Prophets have been victorious, and all unarmed Prophets have been destroyed.

   • 1731 May 27, Benjamin Franklin, “Apology for Printers”, in The Pennsylvania Gazette:

     That hence arises the peculiar Unhappiness of that Business, which other Callings are no way liable to;

Antonyms

• hither

Derived terms

Terms derived from hence

• henceforth
• henceforward

Related terms

• whence
• thence

Translations

from here

• Afrikaans: van hier af, hiervandaan
• Azerbaijani: buradan, burdan
• Bulgarian: оттук (bg) (ottuk)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 從這裡／从这里 (cóng zhèlǐ), 從這兒／从这儿 (cóng zhèr)

• Czech: odtud (cs)
• Danish: heden, herfra
• Dutch: van hier, heen (nl), hiervandaan (nl)
• Faroese: hiðan, hiðani
• Finnish: täältä (fi), tästä (fi)
• French: d’ici (fr)
• Galician: de aquí, de acó
• German: von hier, fort (de), von hinnen (de) (literary)
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἔνθεν (énthen), ἐντεῦθεν (enteûthen)

• Hebrew: מכאן (mikán)
• Icelandic: héðan
• Irish: uaidh seo, mar sin
• Italian: da qui
• Japanese: ここから (koko kara)
• Latin: hinc (la), ex hoc loco, post (la)
• Macedonian: оттука (ottuka), одовде (odovde)
• Malay: dari sini
• Maori: nō konei
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: herfra, herifra

  Nynorsk: herifrå

• Occitan: d'aicí
• Old English: heonan
• Polish: stąd (pl)
• Portuguese: daqui (pt)
• Romanian: de aici
• Russian: отсю́да (ru) (otsjúda)
• Spanish: de aquí
• Swedish: härifrån (sv), hädan (sv)
• Turkish: buradan (tr)
• Ukrainian: зві́дси (zvídsy)

as a result, therefore

• Arabic: وَعَلَيْهِ (waʕalayhi), وَمِنْ ثَمَّ (wamin ṯamma)
• Bulgarian: следователно (bg) (sledovatelno)
• Catalan: per tant (ca), així doncs, idò (ca) (Balearic islands)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 所以 (zh) (suǒyǐ), 因此 (zh) (yīncǐ), 於是／于是 (zh) (yúshì)

• Czech: tudíž (cs), proto (cs)
• Danish: derfor (da)
• Dutch: derhalve (nl), dus (nl), bijgevolg (nl)
• Esperanto: tial (eo), do (eo)
• Finnish: joten (fi), siksi (fi)
• French: ainsi (fr), donc (fr), d’où (fr)
• German: daher (de), deshalb (de), deswegen (de)
• Greek: εξού (el) (exoú)
• Hebrew: לכן (he) (lakhén)
• Hungarian: ennélfogva (hu)
• Icelandic: þess vegna (is)
• Italian: perciò (it), dunque (it), quindi (it)
• Japanese: それ故に (それゆえに, sore yue ni), 従って (ja) (したがって, shitagatte)
• Korean: 따라서 (ko) (ttaraseo)
• Latin: ergo (la), proinde
• Macedonian: значи (znači), затоа (zatoa), според тоа (spored toa)
• Malay: kerana itu, oleh sebab itu, justeru itu
• Maori: nō konei, nā konei, me te aha
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: herav, av dette følger, derfor (no), derav, følgelig

  Nynorsk: følgjeleg, derfor, difor

• Occitan: atal, doncas, es per aquò que, es per aiçò que
• Pashto: ځکه (źëka), نو (ps) (no)
• Polish: więc (pl), skutkiem tego, w związku z tym, przeto (pl)
• Portuguese: portanto (pt)
• Romanian: așadar (ro)
• Russian: сле́довательно (ru) (slédovatelʹno), поэ́тому (ru) (poétomu), потому́ (ru) (potomú), зна́чит (ru) (znáčit)
• Spanish: por lo tanto, por eso, de ahí (es), por ello, por conseguiente
• Swedish: därför (sv), följaktligen (sv), således (sv), härav (sv)
• Ukrainian: о́тже (ótže)

from this time, from now

• Bulgarian: оттогава (bg) (ottogava)
• Finnish: tästedes (fi), tästä eteenpäin
• French: d’ici (fr)
• Occitan: d’aicí, tre ara
• Swedish: hädanefter (sv)
• Ukrainian: з цьо́го ча́су (z cʹóho čásu)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Czech: odtud (cs)
• Danish: deraf
• Dutch: vandaar (nl)
• German: demnach (de)
• Ido: ^{(please verify)} tale (io)
• Indonesian: ^{(please verify)} karenanya (id)
• Italian: da ciò
• Latin: inde (la), abhinc (la), ex eo tempore, istinc, ab eo tempore
• Macedonian: значи (znači), затоа (zatoa), заради тоа (zaradi toa)
• Malay: dari sekarang
• Portuguese: daí (pt)
• Spanish: de ahí (es)

Interjection

hence

1. (obsolete) Go away! Begone!
   • 1604 (date written), Iohn Marston [i.e., John Marston], Parasitaster, or The Fawne, […], London: […] T[homas] P[urfoot] for W[illiam] C[otton], published 1606, →OCLC, Act IV, scene i:

     Zuc[cone]. Hence auant I will marie a woman with no wombe, a creature with two noſes, a wench with no haire rather then remarie thee, […]

   • 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], page 6, column 1:

     Mira[nda]. Beſeech you Father.
     Proſ[pero]. Hence: hang not on my garments.

Verb

hence (third-person singular simple present hences, present participle hencing, simple past and past participle henced)

1. (obsolete, transitive) To utter "hence!" to; to send away.
2. (dated, intransitive) To depart; to go away.

Anagrams

• Neche