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)

(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.'
(archaic, figuratively) From the living or from this world.
After a long battle, my poor daughter was taken hence.
(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.
(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

Related terms

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

(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)

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

Anagrams

Neche