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source

 
Dictionary: source   (sôrs, sōrs) pronunciation

n.
  1. The point at which something springs into being or from which it derives or is obtained.
  2. The point of origin, such as a spring, of a stream or river. See synonyms at origin.
  3. One that causes, creates, or initiates; a maker.
  4. One, such as a person or document, that supplies information: A reporter is only as reliable as his or her sources.
  5. Physics. The point or part of a system where energy or mass is added to the system.

v., sourced, sourc·ing, sourc·es.

v.tr.
  1. To specify the origin of (a communication); document: The report is thoroughly sourced.
  2. To obtain (parts or materials) from another business, country, or locale for manufacture: They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.
v.intr.
To obtain parts or materials from another business, country, or locale: They are sourcing from abroad in order to save money.

[Middle English, from Old French sourse, from feminine past participle of sourdre, to rise, from Latin surgere. See surge.]


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(1) One side of a field effect transistor. See drain.

(2) (The Source) An online information service in McLean, VA, launched in 1979 and purchased by CompuServe in 1989.

(3) The HTML code (source code) of a Web page.

Download Computer Desktop Encyclopedia to your iPhone/iTouch

Channel of sale that generated an order or customer. source evaluation is an essential part of direct marketing that enables marketers to concentrate their promotion expenditures on the best sources. Sources are evaluated not just by number of orders generated, but also in terms of profitability, taking into account the long-term purchase and payment history of each customer by source. Sources for magazine subscription orders include insert cards (see bind-in; blow-in), gifts, direct-mail promotions, white mail, subscription agents, and renewals. Sources may be broken into subsets by key codes that indicate the list, promotion campaign, package, or offer that generated an order from a particular source. See also key code; prior source.

Channel of sale that generated an order or customer. Source Evaluation is an essential part of Direct Marketing that enables marketers to concentrate their promotion expenditures on the best sources.

Thesaurus: source
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noun

  1. A point of origination: beginning, derivation, fount, fountain, fountainhead, mother, origin, parent, provenance, provenience, root1, rootstock, spring, well1. See start/end.
  2. An acquaintance who is in a position to help: connection, contact. See connect.

Antonyms: source
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n

Definition: beginning; point of supply
Antonyms: effect, end, result


Hacker Slang: source
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[very common] In reference to software, source is invariably shorthand for ‘source code’, the preferred human-readable and human-modifiable form of the program. This is as opposed to object code, the derived binary executable form of a program. This shorthand readily takes derivative forms; one may speak of “the sources of a system” or of “having source”.


n. 1. a person, thing, or activity from which intelligence information is obtained.

2. in clandestine activities, a person (agent), normally a foreign national, in the employ of an intelligence activity for intelligence purposes.

3. in interrogation activities, any person who furnishes intelligence information, either with or without the knowledge that the information is being used for intelligence purposes. A controlled source is in the employment or under the control of the intelligence activity and knows that the information is to be used for intelligence purposes. An uncontrolled source is a voluntary contributor of information and may or may not know that the information is to be used for intelligence purposes.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

Device that provides signal power or energy to a load.


Cosmic Lexicon: Source
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(see Eruption) Location where igneous matter (lava and gases) erupts onto the surface; vent, fissure, volcano, etc.

(DOD) 1. A person, thing, or activity from which information is obtained. 2. In clandestine activities, a person (agent), normally a foreign national, in the employ of an intelligence activity for intelligence purposes. 3. In interrogation activities, any person who furnishes information, either with or without the knowledge that the information is being used for intelligence purposes. In this context, a controlled source is in the employment or under the control of the intelligence activity and knows that the information is to be used for intelligence purposes. An uncontrolled source is a voluntary contributor of information and may or may not know that the information is to be used for intelligence purposes. See also agent; collection agency.

Word Tutor: source
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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: A thing or place from which something comes.

pronunciation Always being truthful is a source of happiness. Being honest with our neighbors is a source of happiness. — George Smith (1870-1951).

Wikipedia: Source (river or stream)
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River Wey near its source at Farringdon, Hampshire

The source or headwaters of a river or stream is the place from which the water in the river or stream originates.

Contents

Definition

The marker indicating the source of the Po River, near Crissolo.

There is no universally agreed upon definition such that any stream's source can be systematically determined. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) states that a river's "length may be considered to be the distance from the mouth to the most distant headwater source (irrespective of stream name) or from the mouth to the headwaters of the stream commonly identified as the source stream". Thus, for example, the USGS considered the Missouri River a tributary of the Mississippi River, despite the Missouri being longer.[1]

By another definition a source can be defined specifically as the most distant point (from the river mouth) in the drainage basin from which water runs year-around (perennially, or, alternatively, as the furthest point from which water could possibly flow (ephemerally.[2] The latter definition includes sometimes-dry channels and removes any possible definitions that would have the river source "move around" from month to month depending on precipitation or ground water levels. This definition, from geographer Andrew Johnston of the Smithsonian Institution, is also used by the National Geographic Society when pinpointing the source of rivers such as the Amazon or Nile. A definition given by the state of Montana agrees, stating that a river source is never a confluence but is "in a location that is the farthest, along water miles, from where that river ends."[3] Under this definition neither a lake (excepting lakes with no inflows) nor a confluence of tributaries can be a true river source, though both often provide the starting point for the portion of a river carrying a single name. For example, National Geographic and all other major geographic authorities and atlases[citation needed] define the source of the Nile River not as Lake Victoria's outlet where the name "Nile" first appears, but as the source of the largest river flowing into the lake, the Kagera River. Likewise, the source of the Amazon River has been determined this way, even though the river changes names several times along its course.[4]

This definition, however, is not used in many cases. For instance, the longer Missouri River (2540 miles long) is considered a tributary, while the shorter but much more voluminous Upper Mississippi River (1250 miles long) belongs to the main stream of Mississippi River, rather than the other way around. In its turn, Missouri River's source is located by the USGS (and other federal and state agencies, following Lewis and Clark) as the confluence of the Madison and Jefferson rivers, rather than the source of its longest tributary (the Jefferson).[3]

Characteristics of sources

Often the source, or start of the most remote tributary, may be in an area that is more marsh-like, in which the "uppermost" or most remote section of the marsh would be the true source. For example, the source of the River Tees is marshland.

The furthest stream is also often called the headstream. Headwaters are usually small streams that are often cool waters, because of shade and recently melted ice or snow. They may also be glacial headwaters, waters formed by the melting of glacial ice.

The source is the farthest point of the river stream from its estuary, mouth, or its confluence with another river or stream, regardless of what name that watercourse may carry on local maps and in local usage. Where a river is fed by more than one source, it is customary to regard the longest as its source, with other sources considered tributaries. Often, however, the manner in which streams are named is not consistent with this convention. Many rivers change names numerous times over their length.

Near its source, a river or stream may have a modest flow rate, but the flow increases as more surface runoff and tributaries drain into the subject stream.

Headwaters are the most extreme upstream areas of a watershed. The end point of the watershed is called an outflow or discharge. A watershed is an area of land that is drained by a body of water. The river source is generally on or quite near the edge of the watershed, or watershed divide.

Example

A river is considered a linear geographic feature, with only one mouth and only one source. For an example, please note how the Mississippi River and Missouri River sources are officially defined:

Related usages

The verb "rise" can be used to express the idea of a river's source, and is often qualified with an adverbial expression of place. For example:

  • The River Thames rises in Gloucestershire.
  • The White Nile rises in the Great Lakes region of central Africa.

The word "source", when applied to lakes rather than rivers or streams, refers to the lake's inflow.[5][6]

See also

References


Translations: Source
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - kilde, udspring, kildeskrift, trykforlæg
v. tr. - spore
v. intr. - stamme fra

idioms:

  • at source    fra kilden
  • source language    udgangssprog, kildesprog

Nederlands (Dutch)
bron, oorsprong

Français (French)
n. - source, origine, cause de, origine de, (Journ) source, (Géog) source (d'une rivière), (Littérat) source
v. tr. - (Ind) se procurer
v. intr. - se procurer

idioms:

  • at source    à la source
  • source language    langue source (d'une traduction)

Deutsch (German)
n. - Quelle
v. - die Quelle angeben, (Waren) beziehen

idioms:

  • at source    an der Quelle
  • source language    Quellsprache

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - πηγή, προέλευση, αφετηρία, αρχικό αίτιο
v. - προμηθεύω/-ομαι, εξασφαλίζω πηγή προμηθειών

idioms:

  • at source    από την πηγή, από την αρχή
  • source language    (Η/Υ) γλώσσα κώδικα

Italiano (Italian)
sorgente, origine

idioms:

  • at source    all'origine

Português (Portuguese)
n. - origem, fonte, nascente de rio, fonte de informação
v. - originar

idioms:

  • at source    na origem

Русский (Russian)
исток, родник, источник, документ, происхождение, исходный текст

idioms:

  • at source    в истоке, в зародыше

Español (Spanish)
n. - fuente, origen
v. tr. - dar o rastrear la fuente de
v. intr. - contratar un fabricante o distribuidor

idioms:

  • at source    en el punto de origen
  • source language    idioma de origen

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - källa, upphov, ursprung
v. - stå till tjänst med resurser

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
来源, 根源, 水源, 获得, 从其他公司或国家购得零件及材料等, 开源

idioms:

  • at source    在源头, 在始发地
  • source language    被译语言

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 來源, 根源, 水源
v. tr. - 獲得
v. intr. - 從其他公司或國家購得零件及材料等, 開源

idioms:

  • at source    在源頭, 在始發地
  • source language    被譯語言

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 출처, 근원, 이자나 배당을 지불하는 사람
v. tr. - 출전을 명시하다, ~로부터 습득하다
v. intr. - 공급지를 찾아내다

idioms:

  • at source    원천에서

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 水源, 源, 元, 原因, 情報源

idioms:

  • at source    雇い主によって

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) منبع, سبب, مصدر, أصل (فعل) ينبع‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮ראשית, מוצא, מקור‬
v. tr. - ‮השיג (בייחוד מרכיבים) ממקור מסוים‬
v. intr. - ‮חתם חוזה עם יצרן או ספק, חיפש מידע על‬


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Some good "source" pages on the web:


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