fonte

See also: Fonte and fönte

Asturian

Alternative forms

• fuente (Southern-Central Asturias)
• fuonte (North-Western Asturias)
• ḥuente (Mining Basins, Eastern Asturias)
• ḥuonte (Cabrales)

Etymology

Inherited from Old Leonese fonte, from latin Latin fons.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfonte/ [ˈfõn̪.t̪e]

Noun

fonte f (plural fontes)

1. fountain
2. spring (of water)

   Synonym: manancial

3. source

Derived terms

• Cefontes
• Fombona
• Foncalada
• Fonfría
• fontaneru
• fontanina
• fontanona
• fontanosu
• fontica
• fontán
• mexafontes

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɔ̃t/
• Rhymes: -ɔ̃t

Etymology 1

Probably from fondre.

Noun

fonte f (plural fontes)

1. melting, smelting, thawing
2. cast iron
3. (typography) font

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Italian fonda (“purse”), from Latin funda (“leather pocket, sling”).

Noun

fonte f (plural fontes)

1. holster (on saddle)

Further reading

• “fonte”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Galician

Fonte dos Cabalos, Santiago de Compostela

Etymology

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese fonte f, from Latin fontem m (“spring; fountain”). Cognate with Portuguese fonte f and Spanish fuente f.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈfontɪ]

Noun

fonte f (plural fontes)

1. spring (of water)

   Synonym: manancial

2. fountain

   Synonym: chafariz

3. source, fount (origin)

   Synonym: orixe

4. platter (tray for serving food)

   Synonym: travesa

Related terms

• A Fonsagrada
• Fomiñá
• Fonsagrada
• Fontaíña
• Fonte Maior
• Fonte Pernal
• Fontearcada
• Fonteboa
• Fontechousa
• Fontecova
• Fontefría
• Fonteita
• fontela
• Fontela
• fontelo
• Fontelo
• Fontemaior
• Fontenla
• Fontenlo
• Fontenova
• Fontes
• Fonteseca
• Fontevella
• Fontiña
• Fontiñas
• Fontoira
• Fontoura

References

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “fonte”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “fonte”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “fonte”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “fonte”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “fonte”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Interlingua

Noun

fonte (plural fontes)

1. source, font

Italian

Etymology

Inherited from Latin fontem m, of Proto-Indo-European origin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfon.te/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -onte
• Hyphenation: fón‧te

Noun

fonte f (plural fonti)

1. source, spring (where a body of water emerges)

   Poco oltre, a una cinquantina di chilometri dalla fonte, il fiume termina la sua corsa gettandosi nelle acque del Reno.

   A little further on, about fifty kilometres from its source, the river ends its course, as it flows into the Reno.

2. source or fount (supplier)

   E una buona fonte di vitamina E e Zinco.

   It's a good source of vitamin E and zinc.

   Questa sostanza avvelena regolarmente le persone che vivono nelle zone svantaggiate e che non hanno accesso ad una fonte d'acqua potabile.

   This substance regularly poisons people who live in impoverished areas who don't have access to a source of potable water.

Noun

fonte m (plural fonti)

1. font (baptismal)

Related terms

• fonte energetica / fonte d'energia
• fontana

Further reading

• fonte in Collins Italian-English Dictionary

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈfon.te/, [ˈfɔn̪t̪ɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈfon.te/, [ˈfɔn̪t̪e]

Noun

fonte

1. ablative singular of fōns

Old Galician-Portuguese

Alternative forms

• fõte, ffonte

Etymology

Inherited from Latin fontem m.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfonte/
• Rhymes: -onte
• Hyphenation: fon‧te

Noun

fonte f (plural fontes)

1. spring (water source)

   Synonym: fontana

2. (figurative) source; origin
   • 13th century CE, Alfonso X of Castile, Cantigas de Santa Maria, Códice de los músicos, cantiga 319 (facsimile):

     Sobꝛ eſta mia filla / moſtra ta uertude / que a ta Mercee / Santa ẏ aiude / fonte de bondades / tu lle da Saude / ca mui ben podes / dar uirgen fremoſa.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

• a montes e a fontes
• Fontes

Descendants

• Fala: fonti f
• Galician: fonte f
• Portuguese: fonte f

References

• Manuel Ferreiro (2014–2025) “fonte”, in Universo Cantigas. Edición crítica da poesía medieval galego-portuguesa (in Galician), A Coruña: UDC, →ISSN
• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “fonte”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “fonte”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega

Old Leonese

Etymology

Inherited from Latin fons.

Noun

fonte m

1. fountain, spring
   • 1294 "Cuatro documentos asturianos del siglo xiii" by María Josefa Sanz Fuentes):

     con montes, fontes, prados, pascos, felgueras, molneras,

     with hills, fountains, fields, pastures, ferns, mills,

   • 1285, Carta de Venta:

     todos sos derechos e petenençias, corrales, lavorias, techos, fontes, montes, felgueras, molneras, roças, devisas, lavrado e por lavrar, dondo e bravo, dientro e fora

     with all of their rights and competences, barnyards, tillages, roofs, fountains, forests, ferns, mills, shrubs, camps, tilled and to be tilled, soft and hard, inside and out

Descendants

• Asturian: fonte, fuente, fuonte
• Leonese: fonte, fuente
• Mirandese: fuonte

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfõ.t͡ʃi/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfõ.t͡ʃi/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfõ.te/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈfõ.tɨ/

• Hyphenation: fon‧te

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese fonte f, from Latin fontem m (“spring; fountain”), of Proto-Indo-European origin. Compare Galician fonte f and Spanish fuente f.

Noun

fonte f (plural fontes)

1. spring (water source)

   Synonyms: nascente, vertedouro

2. fountain

   Synonyms: bica, chafariz

3. (figurative) source (that from which something comes or is acquired)

   Synonyms: origem, princípio, causa

4. (anatomy) temple of the head

   Synonym: têmpora

Derived terms

• código fonte

Related terms

• fontícula

Etymology 2

From Latin fundō (“to smelt”).

Noun

fonte f (plural fontes)

1. (typography) font

Further reading

• “fonte” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
• “fonte”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025