fountainhead

[foun-tn-hed]

See more synonyms for fountainhead on Thesaurus.com

noun

a fountain or spring from which a stream flows; the head or source of a stream.
a chief source of anything: a fountainhead of information.

Origin of fountainhead

First recorded in 1575–85; fountain + head

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for fountainhead

Contemporary Examples

In 1949 his wife Lauren Bacall was slated to star alongside Gary Cooper in the adaptation of Rand's The Fountainhead.
Great Weekend Reads
The Daily Beast
April 23, 2011
To RJ Eskow of the Campaign for America's Future, his plan is " The Fountainhead meets Death Race 2000."
Big-Spending Budget Hawk
Benjamin Sarlin
July 29, 2010
Pauline Kael nailed The Fountainhead, both the novel and the film made from it, as “wildly extravagant Kitsch.”
Capitalism's Wicked Witch
Allen Barra
November 27, 2009

Historical Examples

Wasting no more words, I marched off to the fountainhead for information.
It Happened in Egypt
C. N. Williamson
Such publications became the fountainhead of Colonial design.
The Colonial Architecture of Philadelphia
Frank Cousins
Such knowledge he acquired at the fountainhead—that is, from himself.
The Letters Of Mark Twain, Volume 1, 1853-1866
Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
Your veins run with fiery evil direct from its fountainhead.
Under the Witches' Moon
Nathan Gallizier
French Gothic churches are a fountainhead, and should rank first.
How France Built Her Cathedrals
Elizabeth Boyle O'Reilly

British Dictionary definitions for fountainhead

fountainhead

noun

a spring that is the source of a stream
a principal or original source

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

Word Origin and History for fountainhead

n.

"spring from which a stream flows," 1580s, from fountain + head (n.). Figurative use is from c.1600.

fountainhead

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}fountainhead

Examples from the Web for fountainhead

Contemporary Examples

In 1949 his wife Lauren Bacall was slated to star alongside Gary Cooper in the adaptation of Rand's The Fountainhead.

To RJ Eskow of the Campaign for America's Future, his plan is " The Fountainhead meets Death Race 2000."

Pauline Kael nailed The Fountainhead, both the novel and the film made from it, as “wildly extravagant Kitsch.”

Historical Examples

Wasting no more words, I marched off to the fountainhead for information.

Such publications became the fountainhead of Colonial design.

Such knowledge he acquired at the fountainhead—that is, from himself.

Your veins run with fiery evil direct from its fountainhead.

French Gothic churches are a fountainhead, and should rank first.

fountainhead

Word Origin and History for fountainhead

n.

Origin of fountainhead