'source' originates from Old French, specifically the word 'sourse' (or 'sourse'), where the element was related to Latin roots meaning 'to rise' (a spring or rising place).

'source' came into Middle English from Old French 'sourse' (Medieval Latin influenced), and the sense referring to a spring or place where water rises developed into the broader sense of 'origin' and later to 'a provider of information'.

Initially, it meant 'a place where something rises' (especially a spring), but over time it evolved into its current meanings of 'origin' and 'a provider of information or supply'.