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Reading level: medium

Estimated CEFR level: B1 — Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun the place where something begins, where it springs into being
  2. noun a document (or organization) from which information is obtained
  3. noun anything that provides inspiration for later work

Etymology

From Middle English sours, from Old French sorse (“rise, beginning, spring, source”), from sors, past participle of sordre, sourdre, from Latin surgō (“to rise”), which is composed of sub- (“up from below”) + regō (“lead, rule”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃réǵeti (“to straighten; right”), from the root *h₃reǵ-. Doublet of surge.

In classic literature

Synonyms

beginning, origin, root, rootage

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