Adjacent Words

Source definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SOURCE, n. [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.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the place where something begins, where it springs into being; "the Italian beginning of the Renaissance"; "Jupiter was the origin of the radiation"; "Pittsburgh is the source of the Ohio River"; "communism's Russian root" [syn: beginning, origin, root, rootage, source]
2: a document (or organization) from which information is obtained; "the reporter had two sources for the story"
3: anything that provides inspiration for later work [syn: source, seed, germ]
4: a facility where something is available
5: a person who supplies information [syn: informant, source]
6: someone who originates or causes or initiates something; "he was the generator of several complaints" [syn: generator, source, author]
7: (technology) a process by which energy or a substance enters a system; "a heat source"; "a source of carbon dioxide" [ant: sink]
8: anything (a person or animal or plant or substance) in which an infectious agent normally lives and multiplies; "an infectious agent depends on a reservoir for its survival" [syn: reservoir, source]
9: a publication (or a passage from a publication) that is referred to; "he carried an armful of references back to his desk"; "he spent hours looking for the source of that quotation" [syn: reference, source] v
1: get (a product) from another country or business; "She sourced a supply of carpet"; "They are sourcing from smaller companies"
2: specify the origin of; "The writer carefully sourced her report"

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English sours, from Anglo-French surse spring, source, from past participle of surdre to rise, spring forth, from Latin surgere — more at surge Date: 14th century 1. a. a generative force ; cause b. (1) a point of origin or procurement ; beginning (2) one that initiates ; author; also prototype, model (3) one that supplies information 2. a. the point of origin of a stream of water ; fountainhead b. archaic spring, fount 3. a firsthand document or primary reference work 4. an electrode in a field-effect transistor that supplies the charge carriers for current flow — compare drain, gate Synonyms: see origin • sourceless adjective II. transitive verb (sourced; sourcing) Date: 1957 1. to specify the source of (as quoted material) 2. to obtain from a source <metals sourced from abroad> III. adjective Date: 1959 of, relating to, or being source code <a source file>

U.S. Military Dictionary

1. A person, thing, or activity from which information is obtained. 2. In clandestine activities, a person (agent), normally a foreign national, in the employ of an intelligence activity for intelligence purposes. 3. In interrogation activities, any person who furnishes information, either with or without the knowledge that the information is being used for intelligence purposes. In this context, a controlled source is in the employment or under the control of the intelligence activity and knows that the information is to be used for intelligence purposes. An uncontrolled source is a voluntary contributor of information and may or may not know that the information is to be used for intelligence purposes. See also agent; collection agency.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a spring or fountain-head from which a stream issues (the sources of the Nile). 2 a place, person, or thing from which something originates (the source of all our troubles). 3 a person or document etc. providing evidence (reliable sources of information; historical source material). 4 a a body emitting radiation etc. b Physics a place from which a fluid or current flows. c Electronics a part of a transistor from which carriers flow into the interelectrode channel. --v.tr. obtain (esp. components) from a specified source. Phrases and idioms: at source at the point of origin or issue. source-criticism the evaluation of different, esp. successive, literary or historical sources. Etymology: ME f. OF sors, sourse, past part. of sourdre rise f. L surgere

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Source Source, n. [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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(sources, sourcing, sourced) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. The source of something is the person, place, or thing which you get it from. Renewable sources of energy must be used where practical... Tourism, which is a major source of income for the city, may be seriously affected. N-COUNT: usu N of n 2. In business, if a person or firm sources a product or a raw material, they find someone who will supply it. (BUSINESS) Together they travel the world, sourcing clothes for the small, privately owned company... About 60 per cent of an average car is sourced from outside of the manufacturer. VERB: V n, V n 3. A source is a person or book that provides information for a news story or for a piece of research. Military sources say the boat was heading south at high speed... N-COUNT: usu with supp 4. The source of a difficulty is its cause. This gave me a clue as to the source of the problem. = cause N-COUNT: N of n 5. The source of a river or stream is the place where it begins. ...the source of the Tiber. N-COUNT: usu sing

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Origin, spring, fountain, head, rise, beginning, fountain-head. well. 2. Cause, original. 3. Originator.

Moby Thesaurus

adviser, ambition, announcer, annunciator, antecedent, aspiration, author, authority, authorship, basis, begetter, beginning, birthplace, bonanza, calling, cause, channel, commencement, communicant, communicator, conception, consideration, cornucopia, creator, dawn, dawning, derivation, determinant, documentation, enlightener, expert witness, font, fount, fountain, fountainhead, genesis, goal, gold mine, gossipmonger, grapevine, grass roots, ground, guiding light, guiding star, head, headstream, headwater, headwaters, ideal, inception, informant, information center, information medium, informer, inspiration, intention, interviewee, lode, lodestar, mainspring, matter, mine, monitor, mother, motive, mouthpiece, newsmonger, notifier, onset, opening, origin, original, origination, originator, outset, parent, paternity, press, principle, provenance, provenience, public relations officer, publisher, quarry, radical, radio, radix, reason, reporter, resource, rise, rising, riverhead, root, roots, rootstock, sake, score, source of supply, spokesman, spring, staple, start, starting, stem, stock, taproot, television, teller, tipster, tout, ulterior motive, vein, vocation, well, wellhead, wellspring, whence, witness