Etymologically
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hence

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Pronunciation

Etymology

It is Middle English hennes, formed from henne “hence” and the adverbial genitive -s,[2][3][4] from Old English heonan (“away, hence”),[2][3] from West Germanic *hin-, also the source of Old Saxon hinan and German hinnen, hin.[2][3][5] It is a formation on the pronoun base of he,[5][6] from Proto-Indo-European *ki- (“this”),[2][3] and is related to here.[3][2] The spelling -ce, from the mid-15th century, shows that the s is unvoiced, as in twice and once.[2][3][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Away from here: about 1275 in the OED, about 1225 in King Horn according to Barnhart.[8][3]

Semantic evolution

From this world or life is from about 1315.[8] Of time, from now on, is from about 1380.[8][2] As a command, hence! “go away!”, is from 1573–80.[8] The meaning “for this reason, therefore” is first recorded in 1586.[3][2] Wycliffe (1382) uses hennys & þennys for “on both sides”.[2] Henceforth is from before 1375 and henceforward from about 1300.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1275 – away from here.[8]
  • c. 1315 – from this life.[8]
  • c. 1380 – from now on.[8]
  • 1586 – therefore.[3]

Modern meaning

Adverb

  1. As a result; for this reason; therefore.
  2. From now: a week hence.
  3. (archaic) From here; away.
  4. (archaic) From this life.

Interjection

  1. (archaic) Go away!

Word family

  • henceforth
  • henceforward
  • whence
  • thence
  • here
  • he

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press