Wiktionary:Word of the day/Archive/2025/September

1. (chiefly poetic, dated or archaic) Synonym of fountain (“a natural source of water”); a spring.
2. (by extension, agriculture, archaic) A device from which poultry may drink; a waterer.
3. (figurative) That from which something proceeds; an origin, a source.

1. (UK, printing, typography, chiefly dated, historical) Synonym of font (“a set of glyphs of unified design, usually representing the letters of an alphabet and its supplementary characters belonging to one typeface, style, and weight; a typeface; a family of typefaces”)

The English pastor and scholar Robert Robinson, who composed the hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” at the age of 22, was born on this day 290 years ago in 1735.

1. Senses relating to something brittle.
   1. (chiefly Canada, US) A type of baked dessert consisting of fruit topped with a crumbly mixture made with fat, flour, and sugar; a crumble.
   2. (Ireland, UK, chiefly in the plural) In full potato crisp: a thin slice of potato which has been deep-fried until it is brittle and crispy, and eaten when cool; they are typically packaged and sold as a snack.
      1. (Ireland, UK, by extension) Chiefly with a descriptive word: a thin slice made of some other ingredient(s) (such as cornmeal or a vegetable) which is baked or deep-fried and eaten as a snack like a potato crisp.
   3. (slang, dated) A banknote; also, a number of banknotes collectively.
   4. (originally US, also figurative) Chiefly in to a crisp: a food item that has been overcooked, or a thing which has been burned, to the point of becoming charred or dried out.
   5. (obsolete except UK, dialectal) The crispy rind of roast pork; crackling.
2. (obsolete) Senses relating to something curled.
   1. A curly lock of hair, especially one which is tightly curled.
   2. A delicate fabric, possibly resembling crepe, especially used by women for veils or other head coverings in the past; also, a head covering made of this fabric.

The Irish businessman Joe “Spuds” Murphy, founder of the company Tayto Snacks, died on this day in 2001. He and his friend and employee, Seamus Burke, invented the world’s first flavoured potato crisp—cheese and onion—in 1954.