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wellspring

[ wel-spring ]
/ ˈwɛlˌsprɪŋ /
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noun

the head or source of a spring, stream, river, etc.; fountainhead.
a source or supply of anything, especially when considered inexhaustible: a wellspring of affection.

RELATED WORDS

origin, root, source, beginning, fountainhead, aquifer

Nearby words

  1. wellpoint,
  2. wells,
  3. wells' syndrome,
  4. wells, h. g.,
  5. wells, henry,
  6. welly,
  7. welp,
  8. wels,
  9. welsbach burner,
  10. welsbach mantle

Origin of wellspring

before 900; Middle English welle spring, Old English wyllspring; see well2, spring
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for wellspring

British Dictionary definitions for wellspring

wellspring

/ (ˈwɛlˌsprɪŋ) /

noun

the source of a spring or stream; fountainhead
a source of continual or abundant supply

Word Origin for wellspring

Old English welspryng, wylspring; see well ², spring
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 wellspring

wellspring

n.

Old English welspryng, literal and figurative, see well (n.) + spring (n.2).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper