fountainhead

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 19, 2020 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>fountainhead</strong> &#149; \FOUN-tun-hed\&nbsp; &#149; <em>noun</em><br /> <p><strong>1 :</strong> a spring that is the source of a stream</p> <p><strong>2 :</strong> principal source <strong>:</strong> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/origin">origin</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"For all that Paradise Valley represents as a <em>fountainhead</em> of visual awe, the living is not easy for those who steward its most coveted, valuable and threatened asset—its open space, [Whitney Tilt] asserts." — <a href="https://mountainjournal.org/montana-ranchers-face-showdown-with-diseased-elk-in-setting-for-tv-show-yellowstone">Todd Wilkinson, <em>The Mountain Journal</em> (Bozeman, Montana), 30 July 2020</a></p> <p>"With the advancements in technology, there is an unprecedented demand for electronic products that are portable or more compact. This trend has been a <em>fountainhead</em> for most of the 'smart' devices that we see today, such as fit bands, smart bulbs, and smart watches." — <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200610005041/en/Identifying-Key-End-User-Challenges-Micromaterials-Testing-Equipment"><em>Business Wire</em>, 10 June 2020</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>When it first entered English in the late 16th century, <em>fountainhead</em> was used only in a literal sense—to refer to the source of a stream. By the 17th century, however, it was already beginning to be used figuratively in reference to any original or primary source. In his 1854 work <em>Walden</em>, Henry David Thoreau used the word in its figurative sense, while paying full homage to its literal meaning as well: "Morning air! If men will not drink of this at the fountainhead of the day, why, then, we must even bottle up some and sell i