provenience
/prəˈviniəns/
noun
- The place of origin or source of something, especially an artifact, artwork, or archaeological object.
- The museum verified the provenience of the ancient vase before purchasing it.
- Archaeologists carefully record the provenience of every artifact they dig up.
- The painting's provenience was traced back to a private collection in Italy.
- The origin or source of something more abstract, such as an idea or custom.
- Linguists study the provenience of words to understand language history.
- The provenience of the recipe can be traced to medieval France.
- The provenience of this folk tale is unclear, but it likely comes from Eastern Europe.
Synonyms