A later Middle English spelling, retaining the voiceless -s, of hennes (henne + adverbial genitive ending -s), from Old English heonan, from a Proto-West Germanic *hin-, from Proto-Germanic *hiz, and Proto-Germanic *-anē.

Cognate with osx hinan, Old High German hinnan (German hinnen), Dutch heen, Swedish hän. Related to Old English her.

• IPA: /ˈhɛns/

hence (not comparable)

1. (archaic) From here, from this place, away.

   Synonyms: 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.'

2. (archaic, figuratively) From the living or from this world.

   After a long battle, my poor daughter was taken hence.

3. (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.

4. (conjunctive) As a result; therefore, for this reason.

   Synonyms: 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.

• hither

• whence
• thence

• French: d'ici
• German: von hier, fort, von hinnen (literary)
• Italian: da qui
• Portuguese: daqui
• Russian: отсю́да
• Spanish: de aquí

• French: ainsi, donc, d'où
• German: daher, deshalb, deswegen
• Italian: perciò, dunque, quindi
• Portuguese: portanto
• Russian: сле́довательно
• Spanish: por lo tanto, por eso, de ahí

• French: d'ici

1. (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.

hence (hences, present participle hencing; simple past and past participle henced)

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

1. (very, rare) A male given name.