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The original meaning of
Fountain (from the Latin ‘fontana’) was a natural spring or pool
from which water flowed; for example the source of a river was
called a ‘fountain’ or ‘fountainhead’. The use of the word
‘fountain’ for a man-made structure throwing water into the air in
a controlled way was first recorded in English around 1500 AD, after
the word had been in use for nature’s version for nearly 100
years.
Traditionally a fountain has a water source which
fills a basin, trough or something similar and then drains away.
Fountains can be very simple, very elaborate and sometimes very
high. Some are computer controlled, with the fountain bursting and
subsiding in rhythmic patterns. Some flow in sheets over a variety
of surfaces, some cascade from one basin into another. Some are
simply set in an ornamental pool or garden pond, whilst others are
beautifully illuminated. And some have sculptures, including ones
where many creators have the same idea as to where the water should
spring from!
Humans have long found fountains fascinating.
The ancient Greek for fountain was ‘pege’, and ‘pegomancy’ was a
form of divination using fountains: the diviner studied the pattern
of bubbles in the water of a sacred pool or spring, and claimed to
be able to look into the past or foretell the future from
them.
In ancient Rome fountains provided drinking water, and
they were considered so important that each major fountain was
connected to two different aqueducts so that if one failed there
was still water available. No fountains from the Roman Empire
survive: the many beautiful fountains now in Rome all date from the
Renaissance period or
later.
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