provenance.

The origin and documented history of an object, source, or body of information.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• establish provenance
• uncertain provenance
• provenance of data

On the page

The manuscript's provenance links it to a provincial legal archive.

Without data provenance, we cannot tell which figures were revised.

The museum could authenticate the painting but not establish its complete provenance.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic. Usually uncountable. Provenance establishes where something came from and how it passed through hands; it does not alone guarantee authenticity or accuracy. Usually uncountable in the recorded sense; no ordinary plural.