Etymograph

English

thence

Thence comes from Proto-West Germanic *þananā ‘thence, from there’, from *þan ‘then’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tóm.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tóm1uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þan2‘then, at that time’uncertain
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þan3‘then’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þananā4‘thence, from there’reconstructed
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500þenne4
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500þennes4
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1535thence4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *þan
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *þan
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *þananā
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English thence
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1535, Myles Coverdale: “And from thence he went agaynſt yͤ inhabiters of…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tómWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *þanuncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þanWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *þan‘then, at that time’uncertain
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þanWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *þananā‘then’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þananāWiktionary, English thence‘thence, from there’reconstructed
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500þenneWiktionary, English thence
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500þennesWiktionary, English thence
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1535thenceWiktionary, English thence. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1535, Myles Coverdale: “And from thence he went agaynſt yͤ inhabiters of…”

Linked words

through Proto-West Germanic *þan ‘then’

than, 1 more

Today it means

adv From there, from that place or from that time.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “thence”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *þan, Proto-West Germanic *þan, Proto-West Germanic *þananā. 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-Indo-European *tóm / thence

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