INDEX:
1. to come from a particular country, town etc
2. the place you come from
3. to come from a particular family or social group
4. to be grown or made in a particular place
5. when a sound, smell etc comes from somewhere
6. to have developed from something
7. the place, situation etc that something comes from
RELATED WORDS
see also
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1. to come from a particular country, town etc
▷ come from/be from /ˈkʌm frɒm, biː ˈfrɒm/ [transitive phrasal verb not in progressive/verb phrase not in progressive]
if you come from or are from a particular place, that is where you were born or where you lived for a long time :
▪ She comes from Japan.
▪ Where are you from?
▪ My wife’s parents and my parents come from the same town.
▷ be a native of /biː ə ˈneɪtɪv ɒv/ [verb phrase]
be a native of Tokyo/London/Wales etc
to have been born in and to have spent the early part of your life in that place -- used especially when you are writing about someone’s life :
▪ Hughes, who is a native of Belfast, often uses the city as a setting for his novels.
▪ DeParle is a native of Rockwood, Tennessee.
▷ be American/French/Japanese etc by birth /biː əˌmerə̇kən baɪ ˈbɜːʳθ/ [verb phrase]
to have been born in a particular country or to be a citizen of that country because your parents come from there, especially when you now live somewhere else :
▪ She’s lived in Australia for a long time, but she’s Welsh by birth.
▪ They’re Russian by birth but they’ve lived in America for so long that they feel little attachment to their homeland.
▷ be of Scottish/Russian etc ancestry /biː əv ˌskɒtɪʃ ˈænsestriǁ-ˌskɑː-/ [verb phrase]
if you are of Scottish/Russian etc ancestry, relatives of yours that are now dead came from that country a long time ago :
▪ There are roughly 40 million Americans of Irish ancestry.
▪ Her fine features suggested she was of Arabic or Indian ancestry.
2. the place you come from
▷ home town /ˌhəʊm ˈtaʊn/ [countable noun]
the town where you live now, where you were born, or where you spent most of your early life :
▪ I haven’t been back to my home town since my mother died.
▪ She hated her home town so much she would never admit where she was from.
▷ birthplace /ˈbɜːʳθpleɪs/ [countable noun]
the place where someone, especially someone famous, was born :
▪ We visited the birthplace of Lenin in Ulyanovsk.
▪ Muslims are expected to make at least one pilgrimage to Mecca, Muhammad’s birthplace.
▷ place of birth /ˌpleɪs əv ˈbɜːʳθ/ [noun phrase]
the place where you were born -- used especially in official documents :
▪ Forms usually ask you your name, address, nationality and place of birth.
▪ She hoped that one day she would return to her place of birth.
▷ home /həʊm/ [countable noun usually singular]
the place where you usually live or the place that you come from, especially when that is the place where you feel you belong and where you would most like to live :
▪ It took us about ten years to think of Atlanta as home.
▪ Her home, she said, was in Southern China, but she hadn’t been there since she was a child.
3. to come from a particular family or social group
▷ come from/be from /ˈkʌm frɒm, biː ˈfrɒm/ [transitive phrasal verb not in progressive/verb phrase not in progressive]
▪ Most of the people here come from very poor families.
▪ She comes from a family of seven kids.
▪ He’s from a very upper class background.
▷ be descended from /biː dɪˈsendə̇d frɒm/ [verb phrase]
if you are descended from someone, especially someone famous or a group of people who lived a long time ago, you are related to them :
▪ She always claimed her family was descended from the ancient Kings of Egypt.
▪ The Japanese are thought to be descended from tribes from the north of China.
▷ background /ˈbækgraʊnd/ [countable noun]
the particular type of family or social group that you come from :
▪ How quickly kids learn to read will often depend on both their ability and their backgrounds.
▪ Sylvie had always expected that she would marry someone of a similar background to herself.
working class/Jewish etc background
▪ Gary always tried to hide his working class background.
▷ origins /ˈɒrɪdʒənz, ˈɒrədʒənzǁˈɔː-, ˈɑː-/ [plural noun]
the social position that you were born into and in which you spent the early part of your life, for example who your parents were or whether they were rich or poor :
▪ Miller questioned her closely, about her present job, her family and her origins.
humble origins
a poor social position that someone comes from
▪ Politicians love to talk about their humble origins because they think it will make them popular with voters.
▷ roots /ruːts/ [plural noun]
your connection with a place or group in society because you were born there, or your family used to live there :
▪ Rizzo was a man who never forgot his roots.
▪ Beth went to Israel in search of her roots.
4. to be grown or made in a particular place
▷ come from/be from /ˈkʌm frɒm, biː ˈfrɒm/ [transitive phrasal verb not in progressive/verb phrase not in progressive]
▪ Try this bread -- it comes from the bakery on Central Avenue.
▪ U.S. officials say some 60 percent of the heroin on the streets comes from Myanmar.
▪ All the medical equipment here is from France.
▷ be made in /biː ˈmeɪd ɪn/ [verb phrase]
to have been made in a particular country :
▪ These shoes were made in Italy.
▪ About 57 percent of the cars and trucks sold in Colombia are made in Colombia.
▪ The label on the bottle said the wine was made in Germany.
5. when a sound, smell etc comes from somewhere
▷ come from /ˈkʌm frɒm/ [transitive phrasal verb not in passive]
▪ The wind was coming from the west.
▪ Coming from outside in the street was the sound of children playing.
▪ There was an awful smell coming from under the sink.
▷ emanate from /ˈeməneɪt frɒm/ [transitive phrasal verb not in passive] formal
to come from somewhere :
▪ Smoke emanated from the kitchen window.
▪ The President argued that accusations emanating from Congress were not accurate.
▪ Just as the audience grew quiet, the unmistakable ring of a cellular phone emanated from the last row of the theater.
▷ source /sɔːʳs/ [countable noun]
the place that a sound, a smell, smoke, gas etc comes from :
▪ In the case of an electric shock, turn the power off at its source.
an unknown source
▪ The sound came from an unknown source, far away in the distance.
source of
▪ The tank’s losing water, but we can’t find the source of the leak.
6. to have developed from something
▷ come from /ˈkʌm frɒm/ [transitive phrasal verb not in progressive or passive]
use this to say that something that exists now developed from something else that existed before :
▪ My idea for the film came from an article I read about West Virginia coal miners.
▪ The name ‘terrier’ comes from the Latin word ‘terra’ meaning the earth.
▷ be based on /biː ˈbeɪst ɒn/ [verb phrase]
if a film, story, idea, plan etc is based on something else, that is where its basic ideas or facts come from :
▪ The film is based on a popular Bengali novel.
▪ Overtime pay will be based on the number of hours you work each week.
▪ Your test questions will be based on the work you have done in the past year.
▷ originate /əˈrɪdʒɪneɪt, əˈrɪdʒəneɪt/ [intransitive verb not in progressive]
to have developed in a particular place or from a particular situation :
▪ How did the tradition of wearing costumes on Hallowe'en originate?
originate in
▪ Welfare is a program that originated in the 1930s to help widows.
▪ Buddhism originated in India and came to China in the first century A.D.
▷ go back to /gəʊ ˈbæk tuː/ [transitive phrasal verb not in progressive or passive]
to have developed from something that happened or existed a long time ago :
▪ Many phrases in the language go back to early religious writings.
▪ Our friendship goes back to our freshman year in college.
▪ Jo just refuses to get into a car -- it all goes back to when she had that accident.
▷ have its origins in /hæv ɪts ˈɒrə̇dʒɪnz ɪn ǁ-ˈɔːr-/ [verb phrase not in progressive]
if something has its origins in something that existed a long time ago, that is where it comes from and is the reason for it being as it is :
▪ Modern medicine often has its origins in ancient ways of doing things.
▪ Vaudeville had its origins in French street culture.
▷ have its roots in /hæv ɪts ˈruːts ɪn/ [verb phrase not in progressive]
if something such as a belief or attitude has its roots in conditions that existed earlier, it developed from them and is still influenced by them :
▪ Many music historians believe that jazz has its roots in blues music.
▪ Economic policy in the US has its roots in the free market system.
▷ derive from/be derived from /dɪˈraɪv frɒm, biː dɪˈraɪvd frɒm/ [verb phrase not in progressive/verb phrase]
to have developed from something else, especially by a long or complicated process :
▪ Much of the English language is derived from Latin and Greek.
▪ About a quarter of the drugs in prescription medicines today are derived from plants.
▷ be founded on /biː ˈfaʊndə̇d ɒn/ [verb phrase]
to have one main idea, belief etc that something else develops from :
▪ The constitution in this country is not written. It’s founded on tradition and precedent.
▪ White resistance to Civil Rights was founded on age-old fears of democracy.
▷ grow out of /ˈgrəʊ aʊt ɒv/ [transitive verb not in progressive or passive]
to develop from something small or simple by becoming bigger or more complicated :
▪ Socialist ideals grew out of an earlier idea that all men are created equal.
▪ The skill of writing grew out of a wish to put speech into a permanent form.
▷ develop from/evolve from /dɪˈveləp frɒm, ɪˈvɒlv frɒmǁɪˈvɑːlv-/ [verb phrase]
to come from an original idea or form and change into something bigger, more important, or more advanced :
▪ The whole basis of her novel evolved from a chance meeting she had with an old friend.
▪ Within years, the site developed from an area of waste ground into a thriving farm.
7. the place, situation etc that something comes from
▷ origin/origins /ˈɒrɪdʒən(z), ˈɒrədʒən(z)ǁˈɔː-, ˈɑː-/ [countable noun]
the situation, ideas, events etc that something else developed from :
▪ The rumour is now so widespread, it’s difficult to be certain of its origin.
origin/origins of
▪ Astronomers hope new instruments will give them further clues to the origins of the universe.
▪ a book that tries to explain the origin of words and phrases
▷ source /sɔːʳs/ [countable noun]
the point or place where something comes from or where people get something from :
▪ They get their money from various sources.
source of
▪ Beans and lentils are a very good source of protein.
▪ Most Americans rely on television as their chief source of information.
▷ cradle /ˈkreɪdl/ [countable noun usually singular]
cradle of democracy/civilization/human society etc
the place or situation in which democracy etc first started :
▪ Ancient Athens is generally thought of as the cradle of democracy.
▪ Baghdad, the cradle of civilization
▷ birthplace /ˈbɜːʳθpleɪs/ [countable noun]
the place where something first started to exist :
birthplace of
▪ New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz
▪ Walden Pond has been called the birthplace of modern environmentalism.
▷ root /ruːt/ [countable noun]
the most important reason for or cause of something else happening or existing, especially a problem or something bad :
root of
▪ Low taxation of the rich is the root of the economic problems in this country.
the root of all evil
▪ The love of money is said to be the root of all evil.