Meaning
spring (of water)
- source, headwaters
In a sentence
L'acqua della sorgente è fresca anche in estate.
The spring water is cool even in summer.
Sai dov'è la sorgente di questo fiume?
Do you know where the source of this river is?
Non abbiamo trovato la sorgente nel bosco.
We didn't find the spring in the woods.
Word forms (2)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| sorgente | feminine · singular |
| sorgenti | feminine · plural |
Usage notes
- Use sorgente for a natural water spring; fonte is broader and also means figurative or documentary source.
- For rivers, sorgente is the exact starting point; foce is the mouth, where the river ends.
- In technical Italian, sorgente often means a source of energy, light, or signal; this use is common in science and engineering.