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source

[sawrs, sohrs] /sɔrs, soʊrs/
noun
1.
any thing or place from which something comes, arises, or is obtained; origin:
Which foods are sources of calcium?
2.
the beginning or place of origin of a stream or river.
3.
a book, statement, person, etc., supplying information.
4.
the person or business making interest or dividend payments.
5.
a manufacturer or supplier.
6.
Archaic. a natural spring or fountain.
verb (used with object), sourced, sourcing.
7.
to give or trace the source for:
The research paper was not accurately sourced. The statement was sourced to the secretary of state.
8.
to find or acquire a source, especially a supplier, for:
Some of the components are now sourced in Hong Kong.
verb (used without object), sourced, sourcing.
9.
to contract a manufacturer or supplier:
Many large companies are now sourcing overseas.
10.
to seek information about or consider possible options, available personnel, or the like:
a job recruiter who was merely sourcing.
Origin of source
Middle English
Old French
Latin
1300-1350
1300-50; Middle English sours (noun) < Old French sors (masculine), sourse, source (feminine), noun use of past participle of sourdre < Latin surgere to spring up or forth
Related forms
sourceful, adjective
sourcefulness, noun
sourceless, adjective
Can be confused
sauce, source.
Synonyms
1. supplier, originator. 3. authority, reference.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018.
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Examples from the Web for sourceless
Historical Examples

  • The walls of the tunnel now were damp and glistening in the sourceless soft light, tiny trickles running down them.

    The Door into Infinity Edmond Hamilton

  • This mighty cathedral hewn from inside the rock of earth was lit by a soft, white, sourceless light like that in the main tunnel.

    The Door into Infinity Edmond Hamilton

  • The sourceless light of the cavern and the tunnel seemed to pulse from that weird mechanism.

    The Door into Infinity Edmond Hamilton
British Dictionary definitions for sourceless

source

/sɔːs/
noun
1.
the point or place from which something originates
2.
  1. a spring that forms the starting point of a stream; headspring
  2. the area where the headwaters of a river rise: the source of the Nile
3.
a person, group, etc, that creates, issues, or originates something: the source of a complaint
4.
  1. any person, book, organization, etc, from which information, evidence, etc, is obtained
  2. (as modifier): source material
5.
anything, such as a story or work of art, that provides a model or inspiration for a later work
6.
(electronics) the electrode region in a field-effect transistor from which majority carriers flow into the interelectrode conductivity channel
7.
at source, at the point of origin
verb
8.
to determine the source of a news report or story
9.
(transitive) foll by from. to originate from
10.
(transitive) to establish an originator or source of (a product, piece of information, etc)
Word Origin
C14: from Old French sors, from sourdre to spring forth, from Latin surgere to rise
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word Origin and History for sourceless

source

n.

mid-14c., "support, base," from Old French sourse "a rising, beginning, fountainhead of a river or stream" (12c.), fem. noun taken from past participle of sourdre "to rise, spring up," from Latin surgere "to rise" (see surge (n.)). Meaning "a first cause" is from late 14c., as is that of "fountain-head of a river." Meaning "written work (later also a person) supplying information or evidence" is from 1788.

source

v.

"obtain from a specified source," 1972, from source (n.). Related: Sourced; sourcing.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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