fount

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /faʊnt/ UK /faʊnt/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a spring or source; a fountain

The old library was a fount of forgotten knowledge.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a spring or source; a fountain fountain spring source wellspring origin font

Word family

Related forms fountain fontfontal

Etymology

A back-formation from fountain, or directly from Latin fons (genitive fontis, 'spring, fountain'); compare font.

fÅns Latin

View etymology graph ->

External links

# fount

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /faʊnt/
**IPA (UK):** /faʊnt/

## Meanings
1. a spring or source; a fountain

## Examples
- The old library was a fount of forgotten knowledge.

## Synonyms
- fountain
- spring
- source
- wellspring
- origin
- font

## Related Forms
- fountain
- font
- fontal

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: fÅns

## Etymology
A back-formation from fountain, or directly from Latin fons (genitive fontis, 'spring, fountain'); compare font.

## AI Etymology
Fount is a back-formation from fountain, or directly from Latin fons (genitive fontis, 'spring, fountain'); compare font. The development is chiefly a borrowing or learned continuation, carrying an older form and meaning into English rather than building the word from a purely native base. In present use, it is used as a noun meaning "a spring or source; a fountain", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The wider English family includes related forms such as fountain, font, and fontal, showing how the same historical material continues to organize neighboring vocabulary. The named historical forms include Latin fÅns, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance. Its semantic neighborhood includes fountain, spring, source, and wellspring, locating the modern specialization without adding a new origin story.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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fount

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