source

the place where something begins, where it springs into being; "the Italian beginning of the Renaissance"; "Jupiter was the origin of the radiation"; "Pittsburgh is the source of the Ohio River"; "communism's Russian root"

a document (or organization) from which information is obtained; "the reporter had two sources for the story"

anything that provides inspiration for later work

a facility where something is available

a person who supplies information

someone who originates or causes or initiates something; "he was the generator of several complaints"

anything (a person or animal or plant or substance) in which an infectious agent normally lives and multiplies; "an infectious agent depends on a reservoir for its survival"

a publication (or a passage from a publication) that is referred to; "he carried an armful of references back to his desk"; "he spent hours looking for the source of that quotation"