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wellspring

[ wel-spring ]
/ ˈwɛlˌsprɪŋ /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR wellspring ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

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Origin of wellspring

before 900; Middle English welle spring,Old English wyllspring;see well2, spring

Words nearby wellspring

well-shaped, Wells, H. G., well-situated, well-spent, well-spoken, wellspring, Wells' syndrome, well-stacked, well-stocked, well-suited, well-supplied
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to wellspring

origin, root, source, beginning, fountainhead, aquifer

Example sentences 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