wellspring

C2+ Topic:Word Formation & Derivatives

US /ˈwɛl.sprɪŋ/ UK /ˈwel.sprɪŋ/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a source of continual supply, especially of something abstract

Her grandmother was a wellspring of old country wisdom.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a source of continual... source fountain fount originwellheadspring fountainhead

Word family

Related forms well spring

Etymology

From Middle English welle spryng, a compound of well ('a spring of water') and spring ('a source, place of rising'), both from Old English (wella and spring).

wella Old English spring Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Word Formation & Derivatives General Vocabulary

External links

# wellspring

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈwɛl.sprɪŋ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈwel.sprɪŋ/

## Meanings
1. a source of continual supply, especially of something abstract

## Examples
- Her grandmother was a wellspring of old country wisdom.

## Synonyms
- source
- fountain
- fount
- origin
- wellhead
- spring
- fountainhead

## Related Forms
- well
- spring

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: wella
- Root: spring

## Etymology
From Middle English welle spryng, a compound of well ('a spring of water') and spring ('a source, place of rising'), both from Old English (wella and spring).

## AI Etymology
Wellspring comes from Middle English welle spryng, a compound of well ('a spring of water') and spring ('a source, place of rising'), both from Old English (wella and spring). In current use it is a noun meaning "a source of continual supply, especially of something abstract". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The surface form is compositional: its joined elements remain visible in the modern word. The historical chain includes Old English wella and Old English spring. Related English forms include well and spring. The word's history is thus visible in its construction: the components remain interpretable even after the whole expression has settled into a conventional English meaning.

## Topics
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- General Vocabulary

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