source

noun

The person, place, or thing from which something (information, goods, etc.) comes or is acquired.

A reporter's informant.

Spring; fountainhead; wellhead; any collection of water on or under the surface of the ground in which a stream originates.

(computing) Source code.

(electronics) The name of one terminal of a field effect transistor (FET).

(graph theory) A node in a directed graph whose edges all go out from it; one with no entering edges.

(mathematics, category theory) The domain of a function; the object which a morphism points from.

verb

To obtain or procure: used especially of a business resource.

(transitive) To find information about (a quotation)'s source (from which it comes): to find a citation for.

Roots

surgosourc- · Latin · rise

Synonyms for source

originn fountn wellspringn informantn headstreamn fountainheadn rootn proveniencen wellheadn resourcen headwatern provenancen

Words related to source

sourcelessadj referencen generatorn headward suppletoryadj springhead headspringn repositoryn citingv inexhaustibleadj derivedadj reservoirn etymonn inexhaustibilityn

Synonyms & related words for source

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of source — including origin, fount, wellspring, informant, headstream, fountainhead. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to source

Explore words related to source — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include sourceless, reference, generator, headward, suppletory, springhead, headspring, repository. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for source

Common synonyms for source include origin, fount, wellspring, informant, headstream, fountainhead, root, provenience — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does source come from?

The word source breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root sourc-, from Latin surgo (“rise”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.