source
n. countablen. the place, person, or thing where something starts or comes from. You use this when talking about where you get your information or where a river begins.
n. the point of origin of a stream of water or the primary cause or provider of something. In academic contexts, it refers to a person, book, or document that provides evidence or information.
The sun is our main source of energy.
The journalist refused to name her source for the story about the new city law.
Historians must carefully evaluate each primary source to determine its reliability before drawing conclusions about the social climate of the era.
From Middle English sours, from Old French sorse (“rise, beginning, spring, source”), from sors, past participle of sordre, sourdre, from Latin surgō (“to rise”), which is composed of sub- (“up from below”) + regō (“lead, rule”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₃réǵeti (“to straighten; right”), from the root h₃reǵ-. Doublet of surge.
Often followed by the preposition 'of' to indicate the substance or quality being provided.