WordGarden.iofount
C2Pronunciation
UK
- /fˈaʊnt/
US
- /faʊnt/alt-ofarchaicnoun
Meanings
Noun
a source of knowledge, wisdom, or another valued quality
a spring or fountain of water
a set of type in one design and size
Beyond the definition
Imagine an old spring bubbling up from the earth. That is the basic picture behind this word. It means a source, especially one that seems full and steady. It can refer to water, but more often it is used in a figurative way. You might say someone is "a fount of knowledge," meaning they always seem to have more to share. The word often suggests that something is not just coming from one place, but flowing from it in plenty.
It has a poetic, slightly old-fashioned feel. You may see it in phrases like "a fount of wisdom," "a fount of tears," or "a fount of creativity." In modern everyday English, people often choose "source" or "font" instead, but this word still appears in literary and thoughtful writing.
A fount is a source or origin, often one that seems rich, steady, or overflowing. The oldest sense is a spring of water rising from the ground. From that image, the word came to mean any place or person from which something seems to flow freely. That is why it works so naturally in phrases like "a fount of knowledge," "a fount of hope," or "a fount of grief."
This figurative use is now the one most learners are likely to meet. It can describe ideas, emotion, talent, trouble, or anything else that seems to pour out in abundance. A teacher may be called a fount of patience; a writer may be a fount of ideas. The word usually sounds literary, poetic, or slightly old-fashioned, so it is less common in plain everyday speech than simpler words like "source."
There is also a special printing sense. In traditional British printing, a fount is a set of metal type of one particular style and size. In many modern contexts, especially outside British English, people usually write "font" instead. Because of that, learners today will most often meet "fount" in literary phrases about a source of something rather than in technical printing language.
Whether it refers to a real spring, a poetic source of feeling or knowledge, or an older printing term, the word carries the same central idea: something begins here, and it flows out in plenty.
Examples
- 1
Family stories
Her grandfather was a fount of stories about the town's early days.
- Usagefount of
a rich source of; formal
- 2
Research ideas
The lab has become a fount of new ideas for clean energy.
- 3
Poetry
In the poem, the mountain fount feeds the whole valley below.
See also
Forms and spellings
2 forms open this card.
Main spelling
- fountnoun
Forms
- fountspluralnoun