wellspring

[ wel-spring ]

noun

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

   a wellspring of affection.

wellspring

/ ˈwɛlˌsprɪŋ /

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of wellspring¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English welle spring, Old English wyllspring(e); well ², spring

Word History and Origins

Origin of wellspring¹

Old English welspryng, wylspring; see well ², spring

Example Sentences

But the wellspring of progressive cash that fueled Gascón’s run for office in 2020 has dried up when he needs it most for his flagging reelection bid.

From Los Angeles Times

He said: "I hope Scotland will continue to shine as a beacon of enlightenment across stormy seas, a refuge for reason in the world, a wellspring of modern thought and creativity."

From BBC

From the Middle Ages on, Paris’ early underground waste channels were a wellspring of public fascination — and a source of pestilence, criminality and existential dread.

From Los Angeles Times

Back in New York in 2012, he retrieved what he calls the “Ektachrome Archive,” and it has become the wellspring for much of his subsequent work.

From New York Times

But the notion that Trump is going to find some fresh wellspring of support because he's been proved a grubby little criminal by a jury of his peers?

From Salon