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Webster 1913 Edition

Source

Source

,
Noun.
[OE.
sours
, OF.
sourse
,
surse
,
sorse
, F.
source
, fr. OF.
sors
, p. p. of OF.
sordre
,
surdre
,
sourdre
, to spring forth or up, F.
sourdre
, fr. L.
surgere
to lift or raise up, to spring up. See
Surge
, and cf.
Souse
to plunge or swoop as a bird upon its prey.]
1.
The act of rising; a rise; an ascent.
[Obs.]
Therefore right as an hawk upon a
sours

Up springeth into the air, right so prayers . . .
Maken their
sours
to Goddes ears two.
Chaucer.
2.
The rising from the ground, or beginning, of a stream of water or the like; a spring; a fountain.
Where as the Poo out of a welle small
Taketh his firste springing and his
sours
.
Chaucer.
Kings that rule
Behind the hidden
sources
of the Nile.
Addison.
3.
That from which anything comes forth, regarded as its cause or origin; the person from whom anything originates; first cause.
This
source
of ideas every man has wholly in himself.
Locke.
The
source
of Newton’s light, of Bacon's sense.
Pope.
Syn. – See
Origin
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Source

SOURCE

,
Noun.
[L. surgo.]
1.
Properly, the spring or fountain from which a stream of water proceeds, or any collection of water within the earth or upon its surface, in which a stream originates. This is called also the head of the stream. We call the water of a spring, where it issues from the earth, the source of the stream or rivulet proceeding form it. We say also that springs have their sources in subterranean ponds, lakes or collections of water. We say also that a large river has is source in a lake. For example, the St. Lawrence has its source in the great lakes of America.
2.
First cause; original; that which gives rise to any thing. Thus ambition, the love of power and of fame, have been the sources of half the calamities of nations. Intemperance is the source of innumerable evils to individuals.
3.
The first producer; he or that which originates; as Greece the source of arts.

Definition 2024

source

source

See also: sourcé

English

Noun

source ‎(plural sources)

  1. The person, place, or thing from which something (information, goods, etc.) comes or is acquired.
    The accused refused to reveal the source of the illegal drugs she was selling.‎
    • 2006, Edwin Black, chapter 2, in Internal Combustion:
      More than a mere source of Promethean sustenance to thwart the cold and cook one's meat, wood was quite simply mankind's first industrial and manufacturing fuel.
    • 2013 July 6, “The rise of smart beta”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8843, page 68:
      Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.
  2. Spring; fountainhead; wellhead; any collection of water on or under the surface of the ground in which a stream originates.
    The main sources of the Euphrates River are the Karasu and Murat Rivers.‎
    • 2013 August 16, John Vidal, “Dams endanger ecology of Himalayas”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 10, page 8:
      Most of the Himalayan rivers have been relatively untouched by dams near their sources. Now the two great Asian powers, India and China, are rushing to harness them as they cut through some of the world's deepest valleys.
  3. A reporter's informant.
  4. (computing) Source code.
  5. (electronics) The name of one terminal of a field effect transistor (FET).

Synonyms

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Verb

source ‎(third-person singular simple present sources, present participle sourcing, simple past and past participle sourced)

  1. (chiefly US) To obtain or procure: used especially of a business resource.
  2. (transitive) To find information about (a quotation)'s source (from which it comes): to find a citation for.

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams

French

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /suʁs/

Noun

source f ‎(plural sources)

  1. source, spring (pf water)

Verb

source

  1. first-person singular present indicative of sourcer
  2. third-person singular present indicative of sourcer
  3. first-person singular present subjunctive of sourcer
  4. first-person singular present subjunctive of sourcer
  5. second-person singular imperative of sourcer

Anagrams

Etymology

From Middle English sours, from Old French sorse ‎(“rise, beginning, spring, source”), from sors, past participle of sordre, sourdre, from Latin surgere ‎(“to rise”). See surge.

Pronunciation

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