fountain

B1 Topic:Places & Geography

US [ˈfaʊn.tn̩] UK /ˈfaʊn.tɪn/ See IPA manual

Freq #6257

Meanings

1

noun
A structure that shoots water into the air, usually for decoration in a garden or public place.

Tourists threw coins into the fountain in the square.
2

noun
A natural spring where water rises from the ground.

A clear fountain bubbled up at the foot of the hill.
3

noun
A rich source or origin of something.

She was a fountain of knowledge about local history.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · a natural spring where... fount spring wellspring

Word family

Forms fountains

Derived forms fountaindalefountaineerfountaingrassfountainheadfountainlessfountainletfountainlikefountainousfountainwise

Related forms font

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

fountain pen
a pen that supplies its nib with ink from an internal container

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Fountain came into Middle English from Latin fontana, “spring.” It originally denoted a natural spring of water rather than an artificial structure that sends water into the air.

Etymology

From Middle English [Term?]; from Old French fontaine (whence modern fontaine); from Late Latin fontana, from Latin fontanus, fontaneus, adjectives from fons (“source, spring”).

fontaine Old French fontana la-lat fontanus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Places & Geography

External links

# fountain

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** [ˈfaʊn.tn̩]
**IPA (UK):** /ˈfaʊn.tɪn/
**Frequency rank:** 6257

## Meanings
1. A structure that shoots water into the air, usually for decoration in a garden or public place.
2. A natural spring where water rises from the ground.
3. A rich source or origin of something.

## Examples
- Tourists threw coins into the fountain in the square.
- A clear fountain bubbled up at the foot of the hill.
- She was a fountain of knowledge about local history.

## Derived Forms
- fountaindale
- fountaineer
- fountaingrass
- fountainhead
- fountainless
- fountainlet
- fountainlike
- fountainous
- fountainwise

## Related Forms
- font

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: fontaine
- Root: fontana
- Root: fontanus

## Etymology
From Middle English [Term?]; from Old French fontaine (whence modern fontaine); from Late Latin fontana, from Latin fontanus, fontaneus, adjectives from fons (“source, spring”).

## AI Etymology
Fountain comes from Middle English; from Old French fontaine (whence modern fontaine); from Late Latin fontana, from Latin fontanus, fontaneus, adjectives from fons (“source, spring”). In current use, the main senses are “A structure that shoots water into the air, usually for decoration in a garden or public place” and “A natural spring where water rises from the ground”.

## Topics
- Places & Geography

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