Hence

How to spell hence

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce hence

What does hence mean?

1. adverbFor this reason; as a consequence of what was just stated.
2. adverbFrom this moment forward; a stated time in the future.

Hence in a sentence

• The bridge was closed for repairs, hence the long detour through town.

• The new policy takes effect a month hence, once staff have been trained.

• Sales had fallen sharply, hence the decision to cut the budget.

• The loan must be repaid in full two years hence.

Where does hence come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Hence descends from Old English heonan, meaning 'from this place', a native Germanic word for the idea of moving away from where one stands. In Middle English it became hennes, where the trailing -s was the old adverbial genitive ending that English used to mark words like 'always' and 'towards'. Over time that -s sound was respelled as -ce to show that it was pronounced as a crisp 's' rather than a buzzing 'z', which is exactly why the word ends in those puzzling letters today and why writers sometimes hesitate over the spelling. The original spatial meaning ('from here') gradually broadened to cover time ('from now', as in 'a week hence') and then logic ('for this reason', as in 'I was late, hence the apology'). Its old companions 'thence' (from there) and 'whence' (from where) were built in exactly the same way and survive in formal writing.

How the word is built

• hen- (from Old English heonan: from here)
• -ce (adverbial genitive ending)