Noun

(en noun)

The beginning of something.

The source of a river, information, goods, etc.

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-14, author= Sam Leith

, volume=189, issue=1, page=37, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Where the profound meets the profane , passage=Swearing doesn't just mean what we now understand by "dirty words". It is entwined, in social and linguistic history, with the other sort of swearing: vows and oaths. Consider for a moment the origins of almost any word we have for bad language – "profanity", "curses", "oaths" and "swearing" itself.}}

(mathematics) The point at which the axes of a coordinate system intersect.

(anatomy) The proximal end of attachment of a muscle to a bone that will not be moved by the action of that muscle.

(cartography) An arbitrary point on the earth's surface, chosen as the zero for a system of coordinates.

(in the plural) Ancestry.

Noun

(en noun)

(senseid)One who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization, especially in military, police or government organizations.

* , chapter=19

, title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=Nothing was too small to receive attention, if a supervising eye could suggest improvements likely to conduce to the common welfare. Mr. Gordon Burnage, for instance, personally visited dust-bins and back premises, accompanied by a sort of village bailiff, going his round like a commanding officer doing billets.}}

(senseid)One who holds a public office.

(senseid)An agent or servant imparted with the ability, to some degree, to act on initiative.

(senseid)(colloquial, military) A commissioned officer.