English
hence
Hence is a later Middle English spelling of hennes (henne + adverbial -s), from Old English heonan ‘from here’, ultimately Proto-Germanic *hiz.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hiz1‘this’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hin-1reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150heonan1‘from here, away’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hennes1
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602hence1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English hence
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “O Gertrude, come away: / The sun no ſooner…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hizWiktionary, English hence‘this’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hin-Wiktionary, English hencereconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150heonanWiktionary, English hence‘from here, away’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hennesWiktionary, English hence
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602henceWiktionary, English hence. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “O Gertrude, come away: / The sun no ſooner…”
The story
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.
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with hence, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱís ‘this (here)’
- cis ← *ki
through Proto-Germanic *hiz ‘this’
through Old English heonan ‘away", "hence’
- hen ← henne
Explore everything descended from *hiz →
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Today it means
adv From here, from this place, away.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “hence”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *hiz / hence