life-springs
Definition
Noun (plural): Life-springs refers to the sources or foundations that sustain one’s existence, vitality, or ability to live. It often implies the essential supports, resources, or connections that keep a person alive or thriving, both physically and emotionally.
Usage Examples
- (The essential supports for his life were cut off.)
- (The garden was a vital source of vitality and meaning.)
Advanced Usage
- "Life-springs are cut (or broken)": A fixed expression meaning that a person’s fundamental source of life has been destroyed, leading to death or utter despair.
- When he lost his family and fortune, his life-springs were broken, and he never recovered. (The essential supports for his existence were destroyed.)
Variants and Related Words
- Life-spring (singular, rare): One individual source or foundation of life.
- Her creativity was a single life-spring that kept her going through hardship. (One essential source of vitality.)
Synonyms
- Vital forces: The essential energies or powers that sustain life.
- Life sources: The origins or wellsprings of life.
- Lifeblood: The indispensable element that gives life or strength.
- Sustenance: That which supports life, especially food or emotional support.
Related Idioms
To be cut off at the roots: To have one’s fundamental support or foundation removed.
- When his business failed, he felt cut off at the roots, losing all his life-springs. (His essential sources of livelihood were destroyed.)
To lose one’s lifeline: To lose the crucial connection that keeps one alive or functioning.
- Without access to clean water, the village lost its lifeline, severing its life-springs. (The essential source was removed.)
Notes on Usage
This word is highly literary and metaphorical, rarely used in everyday conversation. It appears most often in poetic, philosophical, or dramatic contexts to describe the deep, often intangible sources of life—such as love, hope, community, or physical health—that, when broken, result in death or total collapse.